Pseudomonas Infections: Mortality & Health Care Costs

Marin H. Kollef, MD, professor of medicine and Virginia E. & Sam J. Golman chair of the Respiratory Intensive Care department of Washington University School of Medicine, discusses the mortality and health care costs associated with Pseudomonas infections.

Interview transcript (modified slightly for readability):

“The mortality and health care costs associated with Pseudomonas infections are quite significant. Pseudomonas is one of the more common nosocomial infections that we see in the hospitalized patient.

The mortality associated with it depends on the type of infection, but can vary anywhere from 10% to 15% to as high as 30% or 40% when we’re talking about bacteremic patients who are in septic shock, particularly if they are neutropenic or if they have or if they have other immunosuppressed systems that are in place.

From a health care cost perspective, we know that any nosocomial infection increases the length of stay within the hospital Pseudomonas in particular, if it’s not treated correctly upfront, can have an even greater length of stay associated with that particular situation. And so, it’s not just the organism, it’s also the host factors and whether or not the infection is treated correctly.”