Volume 17, Number 9—September 2011
Dispatch
Listeriosis, Taiwan, 1996–2008
Yu-Tsung Huang, Chun-Hsing Liao, Chia-Jui Yang, Lee-Jene Teng, Jin-Town Wang, and Po-Ren Hsueh
Table
Demographic data for 43 nonpregnant adults with listeriosis, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, 1996–2008*
| Characteristic | No. (%) patients, n = 43 |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| M | 29 (67) |
| F |
14 (33) |
| Underlying condition | |
| Steroid use >0.5 mg/kg/day | 19 (44) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 11 (26) |
| Surgery in previous 2 mo | 10 (23) |
| Peptic ulcer disease with or without bleeding | 9 (21) |
| Liver cirrhosis† | 9 (21) |
| Renal insufficiency‡ | 8 (19) |
| Alcoholism | 4 (9) |
| Ulcerative colitis | 2 (5) |
| Antiphospholipid syndrome | 1 (2) |
| Hematologic malignancy | 15 (35) |
| Multiple myeloma | 5 (12) |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma§ | 5 (12) |
| Leukemia | 4 (9) |
| Myelodysplastic syndrome | 1 (2) |
| Solid cancer | 19 (44) |
| Lung cancer | 4 (9) |
| Malignancy of unknown primary hepatocellular carcinoma | 3 (7) |
| Gastric cancer§ | 2 (5) |
| Colorectal cancer§ | 2 (5) |
| Bladder cancer§ | 2 (5) |
| Ovarian cancer | 2 (5) |
| Chemotherapy within 4 weeks |
23 (53) |
| Diagnosis¶ | |
| Bacteremia | 29 (67) |
| Meningitis/meningoencephalitis | 8 (19) |
| Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis | 4 (9) |
| Brain abscess |
2 (5) |
| Crude mortality rate | |
| 7 d | 11 (26) |
| 14 d | 12 (28) |
*Mean age, y, ± SD: 62.12 ± 15.10.
†Including 4 patients with hepatic decompensation.
‡Including 3 patients with end-stage renal insufficiency who were receiving hemodialysis.
§One female patient had coexisting non-Hodgkin lymphoma and colon cancer; 1 male patient had coexisting non-Hodgkin lymphoma, gastric cancer, and bladder cancer.
¶Initial modified Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation II score, mean ± SD: 18.8 ± 7.3.
