Prevalence and risk factors for bacteremia in community-acquired pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Bacteremia represents a significant complication in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Nonetheless, there is currently a dearth of systematic research that determines the precise prevalence and risk factors of bacteremia in CAP patients.

METHODS

PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for published studies on the prevalence or risk factors for CAP with bacteremia up to April 21, 2024. The NOS scale was utilized to appraise the study quality, and the META process was carried out in R language.

RESULTS

58,342 CAP patients were enrolled in 22 studies. Of these patients, 29,610 underwent blood culture tests, and 2332 patients had positive blood culture results. Meta-analysis pooled results showed that the incidence of bacteremia was 5.1% (95% CI: 3.6-6.8%) in CAP patients. The prevalence of co-bacteremia was 3.1% (95% CI: 1.5-5.1%) in minors and 6.9% (95% CI: 5.2%-8.8%) in adults. The most common pathogens of CAP were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, a summary of the original studies found that the risk factors for bacteremia in CAP patients were diverse and varied.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of bacteremia in CAP patients warrants significant attention. There is a pressing need to establish more specific bacterial screening protocols.