Second infections independently increase mortality in hospitalized patients With cirrhosis: the north american consortium for the study of end-stage liver disease (NACSELD) experience

HepatologyVolume 56, Issue 6 p. 2328-2335 Liver Failure/Cirrhosis/Portal HypertensionFree Access Second infections independently increase mortality in hospitalized patients With cirrhosis: the north american consortium for the study of end-stage liver disease (NACSELD) experience†‡ Jasmohan S. Bajaj, Corresponding Author Jasmohan S. Bajaj jsbajaj@vcu.edu Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA fax: 804-675-5816Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center, 1201 Broad Rock Blvd., Richmond, VA 23249Search for more papers by this authorJacqueline G. O'Leary, Jacqueline G. O'Leary Division of Hepatology, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TXSearch for more papers by this authorK. Rajender Reddy, K. Rajender Reddy Division of Gastroenterology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PASearch for more papers by this authorFlorence Wong, Florence Wong Division of Gastroenterology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaSearch for more papers by this authorJody C. Olson, Jody C. Olson Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, MNSearch for more papers by this authorRam M. Subramanian, Ram M. Subramanian Division of Gastroenterology, Emory University Medical Center, Atlanta, GASearch for more papers by this authorGeri Brown, Geri Brown Division of Gastroenterology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, TXSearch for more papers by this authorNicole A. Noble, Nicole A. Noble Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VASearch for more papers by this authorLeroy R. Thacker, Leroy R. Thacker Biostatistics, Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VASearch for more papers by this authorPatrick S. Kamath,, Patrick S. Kamath, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, MNSearch for more papers by this authoron behalf of NACSELD, on behalf of NACSELD Division of Gastroenterology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaSearch for more papers by this author Jasmohan S. Bajaj, Corresponding Author Jasmohan S. Bajaj jsbajaj@vcu.edu Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA fax: 804-675-5816Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center, 1201 Broad Rock Blvd., Richmond, VA 23249Search for more papers by this authorJacqueline G. O'Leary, Jacqueline G. O'Leary Division of Hepatology, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TXSearch for more papers by this authorK. Rajender Reddy, K. Rajender Reddy Division of Gastroenterology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PASearch for more papers by this authorFlorence Wong, Florence Wong Division of Gastroenterology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaSearch for more papers by this authorJody C. Olson, Jody C. Olson Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, MNSearch for more papers by this authorRam M. Subramanian, Ram M. Subramanian Division of Gastroenterology, Emory University Medical Center, Atlanta, GASearch for more papers by this authorGeri Brown, Geri Brown Division of Gastroenterology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, TXSearch for more papers by this authorNicole A. Noble, Nicole A. Noble Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VASearch for more papers by this authorLeroy R. Thacker, Leroy R. Thacker Biostatistics, Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VASearch for more papers by this authorPatrick S. Kamath,, Patrick S. Kamath, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, MNSearch for more papers by this authoron behalf of NACSELD, on behalf of NACSELD Division of Gastroenterology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 13 July 2012 https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.25947Citations: 271 † Potential conflict of interest: Nothing to report. ‡ Partly supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant NIDDK RO1DK087913 and UL1RR031990 from the National Center for Research Resources. AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Bacterial infections are an important cause of mortality in cirrhosis, but there is a paucity of multicenter studies. The aim was to define factors predisposing to infection-related mortality in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. A prospective, cohort study of patients with cirrhosis with infections was performed at eight North American tertiary-care hepatology centers. Data were collected on admission vitals, disease severity (model for endstage liver disease [MELD] and sequential organ failure [SOFA] scores), first infection site, type (community-acquired, healthcare-associated [HCA] or nosocomial), and second infection occurrence during hospitalization. The outcome was mortality within 30 days. A multivariate logistic regression model predicting mortality was created. 207 patients (55 years, 60% men, MELD 20) were included. Most first infections were HCA (71%), then nosocomial (15%) and community-acquired (14%). Urinary tract infections (52%), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP, 23%) and spontaneous bacteremia (21%) formed the majority of the first infections. Second infections were seen in 50 (24%) patients and were largely preventable: respiratory, including aspiration (28%), urinary, including catheter-related (26%), fungal (14%), and Clostridium difficile (12%) infections. Forty-nine patients (23.6%) who died within 30 days had higher admission MELD (25 versus 18, P < 0.0001), lower serum albumin (2.4 g/dL versus 2.8 g/dL, P = 0.002), and second infections (49% versus 16%, P < 0.0001) but equivalent SOFA scores (9.2 versus 9.9, P = 0.86). The case fatality rate was highest for C. difficile (40%), respiratory (37.5%), and spontaneous bacteremia (37%), and lowest for SBP (17%) and urinary infections (15%). The model for mortality included admission MELD (odds ratio [OR]: 1.12), heart rate (OR: 1.03) albumin (OR: 0.5), and second infection (OR: 4.42) as significant variables. Conclusion: Potentially preventable second infections are predictors of mortality independent of liver disease severity in this multicenter cirrhosis cohort. (HEPATOLOGY 2012;56:2328–2335) One-third of all patients hospitalized with cirrhosis have at least one infection during hospitalization,1-5 which increases length of hospital stay, cost, and mortality. No published data exist on the impact of a second in-hospital infection in this population.6-8 Only one-third of these infections are community-acquired; two-thirds are healthcare-associated (HCA) or nosocomial in origin.1, 3 Previous studies indicate that one-third of HCA and nosocomial infections are potentially preventable.9, 10 As a result of the high prevalence of HCA and nosocomial infections in cirrhosis, first-line antibiotic therapy traditionally used against community-acquired infections is often ineffective.3 Because much of the data are from single-center European studies and there remains a need for a multicenter study to broadly understand the nature and impact of second infections, and assess resistance patterns in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis, to provide generalizable findings and also prognostic information. In addition, it is likely that the resistance pattern and antibiotic usage practices in North America are different from the European experience. A consortium of tertiary-care hepatology centers (The North American Consortium for End-Stage Liver Disease [NACSELD]) prospectively collects data on hospitalized patients with cirrhosis who have or develop infections. The overarching purpose of NACSELD is to describe the causes, the pathogenic organisms identified, and the antibiotic resistance patterns emerging in infected and hospitalized North American patients with cirrhosis. The long-term goal of the consortium is to develop interventions that decrease infections, cost of care, and ultimately mortality. The hypothesis was that second infections occur in cirrhosis and are associated with mortality independent of the liver disease severity. The objective of this study was to define the factors predisposing to bacterial infection-related mortality in the NACSELD cohort. Materials and Methods After Institutional Board review and approval of the protocol at the clinical sites, patients were prospectively enrolled following written informed consent and data were collected. Data were managed using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) tools hosted at Virginia Commonwealth University.11 REDCap is a secure, web-based application designed to support data capture for research studies, providing: (1) an intuitive interface for validated data entry; (2) audit trails for tracking data manipulation and export procedures; (3) automated export procedures for seamless data downloads to common statistical packages; and (4) procedures for importing data from external sources. Consecutive patients who gave informed consent were included from all sites. However, the variation in the patient number enrolled between sites was due to differing dates of study initiation. We included patients with cirrhosis who were admitted with or developed an infection during their hospitalization. Cirrhosis was defined by either (1) biopsy or (2) clinical evidence of decompensation or varices or (3) radiological evidence of liver nodularity and intraabdominal varices in a patient with chronic liver disease. Data collected included site, patient demographics, comorbid conditions including diabetes mellitus, complications of cirrhosis, use of medications such as proton pump inhibitors (PPI), antibiotics, and beta-blockers, and history of hospitalizations and antibiotic use in the previous 6 months. First-infection details recorded included site of infection, organism isolated and susceptibility, and whether nosocomial, HCA, or community-acquired.12 Infections were defined as follows13: (i) spontaneous bacteremia: positive blood cultures without a source of infection; (ii) spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP): ascitic fluid polymorphonuclear cells >250/μL with/without a positive fluid culture; (iii) lower respiratory tract infections: new pulmonary infiltrate in the presence of: (a) at least one respiratory symptom (cough, sputum production, dyspnea, pleuritic pain) with (b) at least one finding on auscultation (rales or crepitation) or one sign of infection (core body temperature >38°C or <36°C, shivering or leukocyte count >10,000/mm3 or <4,000/mm3) in the absence of antibiotics; (iv) Clostridium difficile: diarrhea with a positive C. difficile assay; (v) bacterial enterocolitis: diarrhea or dysentery with a positive stool culture for Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, Campylobacter, or pathogenic E. coli; (vi) skin infection: fever with cellulitis; (vii) urinary tract infection (UTI): urine WBC >15/high-power field with either positive urine gram stain or culture in a symptomatic patient; (viii) intraabdominal infections: diverticulitis, appendicitis, cholangitis, etc.; (ix) secondary bacterial peritonitis: >250 polymorphonuclear cells/μL of ascitic fluid in the presence of an intraabdominal source of peritonitis and multiple organisms cultured from ascitic fluid. We excluded patients with an unclear diagnosis of cirrhosis; patients admitted electively for surgery, interventional radiology, or other scheduled procedures; and immune-compromised patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection, prior transplant, or disseminated malignancies. First infections were defined as community-acquired if they were diagnosed within 48 hours of admission without hospitalizations in the previous 6 months; HCA if they were diagnosed within 48 hours of admission in patients with hospitalization for at least 2 days in the previous 6 months; and nosocomial if the infection was diagnosed beyond 48 hours of admission. Second infections were defined as an infection separate from and following the first infection during the same hospitalization. These second infections would be nosocomial in origin. Other data recorded included admission vital signs (first set that was recorded), sequential organ failure (SOFA) score, hospital course, antibiotics given, in-hospital complications of cirrhosis, and procedures performed during the hospitalization. The details obtained on second infections included the patient location at diagnosis, the site of infection, if procedures were temporally related, and the antibiotics used before and following the diagnosis of second infection. The outcomes recorded were death during admission or within 30 days of the first infection diagnosis; discharge to a facility, hospice, or home; and liver transplantation. Standard laboratory tests were performed at each facility as part of the standard of care. The variables studied were complete blood counts, serum sodium, model for endstage liver disease (MELD) score variables, and serum albumin. All data was collected prospectively and entered by the site principal investigators and coordinator. The site principal investigators were responsible for accuracy of data entry of the symptoms, adjudication of nosocomial, HCA, community-acquired infections, and other clinical aspects. They were also responsible for auditing their site's data against the patients' medical records to ensure correct entry. Statistical Analysis. Data were analyzed using SAS v. 9.2. Patients who died during index hospitalization or within 30 days of the first infection diagnosis were compared with patients who survived >30 days after the infection. We also compared the demographics, severity of liver disease, and infection-related variables between those with community-acquired, HCA, and nosocomial first infections. The clinical characteristics of patients who developed a second infection were compared with those who remained free of second infections. Results are expressed as mean (standard deviation [SD]) unless specified otherwise. When comparing groups, a chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables, whereas for continuous variables t-tests were used. The determinants of mortality were calculated using a logistic regression model. Univariate analysis was performed to determine predictors of death. The variables analyzed were age; gender; etiology of cirrhosis; diabetes; admission MELD, albumin, sodium; admission mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, SOFA score, use of PPIs, antibiotics such as rifaximin or others used for SBP prophylaxis, and nonselective beta-blockers; organism Gram stain to generate a model with variables available at baseline. We also examined another model with additional variables of length-of-stay and second infection that were evident during hospitalization. All variables with P < 0.25 on univariate analysis were included in the stepwise logistic regression analysis. Backwards elimination was performed to arrive at a parsimonious model where all variables included in the multivariate logistic regression model were significant at the 0.25 level or less. The resulting model was then pared down by eliminating, one by one, covariates that were not significant at the 0.05 level and the final model where all covariates were significant at the 0.05 level was identified and the fit of this model was assessed using the Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness of fit test. Abbreviations HCA, healthcare-associated; MELD: model for endstage liver disease; NACSELD, North American Consortium for the Study of End-Stage Liver Disease; SBP, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis; SIRS, systemic inflammatory response syndrome; SOFA, sequential organ failure; UTI, urinary tract infection. Results A total of 207 patients with cirrhosis were included in the analysis from December 2010 to December 2011. The demographics and clinical details are displayed in Table 1. Patients were equally distributed across North America: the five leading enrollment sites were Virginia Commonwealth University and VA Medical Center, Richmond (31%); Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas (24%); University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (16%); Mayo Clinic, Rochester (12%); and University of Toronto (10%). Table 1. Baseline Variables of the Included Population Variable, Mean (%) Patient Information (n = 207) Gender (men/women) 124/ 83 Race Caucasian 171 (82.6%) African-American 27 (13.0%) Asian 6 (2.9%) Other 3 (1.4%) Ethnicity (Hispanic) 11 (5.3%) Etiology of cirrhosis Hepatitis C alone 52 (25%) Alcohol alone 63 (31%) Hepatitis C and alcohol 29 (14%) Cryptogenic or NASH 31 (15%) Other 32 (15%) Diabetes 63 (30%) Median hospitalizations within 6 months (range) 2 (0-32) Median infections within 6 months (range) 1 (0-8) Medications at time of admission Beta-blockers 88 (44%) Proton pump inhibitors 111 (55%) SBP prophylaxis 45 (22%) Rifaximin 72 (36%) Admission Mean Value (SD) Age 55 (9) Mean arterial blood pressure (mmHg) 82.7 (15.8) Mean heart rate (beats/minute) 88.1 (16.2) Mean SOFA score 13.8 (33.9) Serum albumin 2.7 (0.7) Serum sodium 132.3 (6.3) Serum creatinine 1.5 (1.1) Serum total bilirubin 6.2 (6.3) INR 1.7 (0.7) MELD score 20 (8) In the 6 months preceding enrollment, 85% of patients had been hospitalized at least once and 51% experienced an infection requiring an emergency room visit or hospitalization. In patients with prior infections, 36% received beta-lactam antibiotics. Most patients had complications prior to their infection: hepatic encephalopathy (63%), ascites (79%), hyponatremia (61%), and variceal hemorrhage (28%). Medications at the time of admission are listed in Table 1. SBP prophylaxis was with fluoro-quinolones (75%) or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (25%). First Infections. The most common first infection was UTI (52 or 25%), followed by SBP (47 or 23%), spontaneous bacteremia (43 or 21%), skin (27 or 13%), and lower respiratory infections (16 or 8%) (Table 2). C. difficile was seen in 10 (5%) patients and other infections made up the remainder (Fig. 1). Twenty-eight patients (14%) had community-acquired, 147 (71%) had HCA, and 32 (15%) had nosocomial infections. The nosocomial infections were predominantly UTI and C. difficile followed by relatively smaller proportions of cases of SBP, spontaneous bacteremia, respiratory, and skin infections. Of the infections diagnosed, there was an increased likelihood of UTI (P = 0.005) and C. difficile (P = 0.001) as the first nosocomial infection, whereas skin infections (P = 0.035) or SBP (P = 0.01) were less likely to be diagnosed as nosocomial infections. Figure 1Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Distribution of percentage of individual first infections that were community-acquired, healthcare-associated, or nosocomial infections. A significantly higher percentage of the nosocomial first infections were UTI and Clostridium difficile, whereas a significantly lower percentage was due to skin infections and SBP. CA: community-acquired, HCA: healthcare-associated, Noso: nosocomial. Table 2. Distribution and Characteristics of the First Infection Site of Infection Community- Acquired Healthcare- Associated Nosocomial Total First Infections (n = 28) (n = 147) (n = 32) UTI 5 33 14 52 (25%) SBP 8 37 2 47 (23%) Spontaneous bacteremia 6 35 2 43 (21%) Respiratory 2 10 4 16 (8%) Skin/soft-tissue 4 22 1 27 (13%) C. difficile 0 4 6 10 (5%) Others 3 6 3 12 (5%) Type of Organism Gram-positive 8 51 13 72 (35%) Gram-negative 6 46 7 59 (28%) Fungus 0 3 4 7 (3%) Others 1 4 0 5 (2%) Negative culture 13 43 8 64 (31%) Organisms Isolated with First Infections. An organism was isolated in 69% of infections with gram-positive bacteria accounting for 72 (35%) and gram-negative bacteria accounting for 59 (29%) isolates. The remainder included fungi in seven (3%) and others in five (2%) isolates. Gram-positive organisms were Streptococci (n = 19.26%), methicillin-sensitive Staphylococci (n = 12.17%), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n = 7,10%), Enterococcus (n = 19.26%: vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus [VRE] 47% and vancomycin-sensitive 53%), C. difficile (n = 10.14%), and gram-positive bacilli (n = 6,8%). Among gram-negative infections, the isolates were predominantly E. coli (n = 29, 49%-21% with extended beta-lactamase resistance [ESBL] and 21% with fluoroquinolone resistance). The remaining were Klebsiella (n = 14, 24%-43% with fluoroquinolone resistance), followed by Enterobacter cloacae (n = 4,7%, 50% with ESBL), Acinetobacter (n = 3, all meropenem-sensitive), Serratia (n = 2), Proteus (n = 2), Citrobacter (n = 2), Gardnerella (n = 1), Pasteurella (n = 1), and Salmonella (n = 1). Therefore, among first infections VRE was seen in 10 isolates, MRSA in 7, fluoroquinolone resistance in 18, and ESBL in six isolates. All fungal infections were Candida-related (three were UTI, two were soft-tissue, one pneumonia and one septicemia). Hospital Course. Transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) was required for 72 (35%) patients. Twenty percent (n = 41) of patients developed septic shock. The mean length-of-stay (LOS) of the entire cohort was 11.9 ± 13.5 days. Complications that developed included hepatic encephalopathy (61%), gastrointestinal bleeding (22%), and hepatorenal syndrome (25%); renal replacement therapy was required in 17% of the population. Almost half (47%) of patients required central venous line placement, 38% underwent a large-volume paracentesis or thoracentesis, 19% needed mechanical ventilation, and only 5% were initiated on parenteral nutrition. Second Infections. A total of 50 (24.1%) patients developed a second infection during hospitalization, a median of 5 days after the first infection (Table 3; Fig. 2). Contracting second infections was equally likely whether the patients were on the medical ward (n = 28, 56%) or in the ICU (n = 22, 44%), P = 0.12. The majority of second infections were respiratory (n = 14, 28%), UTI (n = 13, 26%), and C. difficile (n = 6,12%). Respiratory second infections were commonly associated with aspiration (n = 6) and mechanical ventilation (n = 4) and only two organisms were isolated (Klebsiella and an unspeciated gram-negative bacillus). In contrast, all UTIs were culture-positive and related to bladder catheterization in six cases. The leading causes of UTI were Enterococcus (VRE n = 2 and vancomycin-sensitive, n = 2), Candida (n = 4), and gram-negative organisms (E. coli [n = 1], Enterobacter [n = 1], Klebsiella [n = 1], Pseudomonas [n = 1] and an unspeciated gram-negative bacillus [n = 1]). The overall distribution of organisms isolated was equally between gram-positive and -negative organisms. Gram-positive organisms were seen in 19 infections (seven VRE, two vancomycin-sensitive, three MRSA, one Streptococcus viridans, and six C. difficile), gram-negatives in 10 (three E coli, two Klebsiella, one each of Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter; the remaining were unspeciated gram negative bacilli), Candida in seven; whereas the remaining 14 did not have any organism isolated. The seven patients with a fungus as a cause of their second infections included four with UTI and three with esophagitis. There was no difference in the distribution of gender, race, ethnicity, or etiology of cirrhosis in those who developed a second infection compared to those who did not. In addition, the site of prior infection did not predict the development of a second infection. However, second infections were more frequently seen in patients in whom the first infection was nosocomial (n = 16, 50%) compared to HCA (n = 30, 20%), or community-acquired first infections (n = 4, 14%, P = 0.004). Further, second infections more often occurred in patients in the ICU (43% versus 15%, P < 0.0001), patients with shock (47% versus 20%, P < 0.0001), those requiring renal replacement therapy (46% versus 21%, P = 0.003), and those with hepatic encephalopathy (30% versus 17%, P = 0.024). Second infection rates were also significantly higher in patients who had central lines (37% versus 14%, P < 0.0001) and required mechanical ventilation (46% versus 19%, P < 0.0001). There was no significant increase in the rate of second infections in patients who underwent large volume paracentesis, had parenteral nutrition, or those who experienced gastrointestinal bleeding during their hospitalization. Of note, the infection rates due to VRE (14% versus 3.5%, P < 0.003), C. difficile (12% versus 5%, P = 0.003), and fungi (14% versus 3.5%, P < 0.0001) were higher among patients with second infection when compared to first infections. Figure 2Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Percentage of infections (first and second) according to body site. The percentage distribution of first and second infections is shown. Blue bars represent the percentage of the first infections by site, whereas red bars represent the second infections. There is a significantly higher percentage prevalence of respiratory (P < 0.0001), fungal (P = 0.003), and C. difficile (P = 0.05) in the second infections compared to the first, whereas the opposite was true for SBP (P = 0.045), skin infections (P = 0.02), and spontaneous bacteremia (P = 0.036). UTI percentage prevalence was similar in the first and second infections (P = 0.89). Resp: lower respiratory tract infections, UTI: urinary tract infections, Bact: spontaneous bacteremia. Table 3. Comparison Between Patients Who Did or Did Not Develop a Second Infection Second Infection (n = 50) No Second Infection (n = 157) P-value Age 54.8 (8.7) 55.4 (9.3) 0.69 Admission MELD 22.1 (8.1) 19.6 (7.6) 0.06 Admission albumin 2.6 (0.6) 2.7 (0.7) 0.14 Admission serum sodium 132.6 (6.3) 132.1 (6.4) 0.66 SOFA score 14 (32) 14 (37) 0.99 On beta-blockers 17 (35%) 71 (45%) 0.12 On PPIs 28 (56%) 83 (53%) 0.83 On rifaximin 18 (36%) 54 (34%) 0.98 On SBP prophylaxis 10 (20%) 26 (17%) 0.48 Median infections in the past 6 months 1 1 0.31 Nosocomial first infection 16 (32%) 16 (10%) <0.0001 Length-of-stay (days) 16.1 (12.7) 10.6 (13.5) 0.013 First Infection Organism Gram-positive 18 (36%) 54 (34%) 0.90 Gram-negative 18 (36%) 41 (26%) 0.21 Fungus 4 (8%) 3 (2%) 0.36 No organism/others 10 (20%) 59 (38%) 0.10 Mortality. Forty-nine patients (23.6%) died during hospitalization or within 30 days of discharge. The first infection case fatality rate was the highest for patients with C. difficile (40%, 4/10), followed by respiratory infections (37.5%, 6/16), and spontaneous bacteremia (37%, 16/43). The case fatality rate was lower for skin infections (22%, 6/27), UTIs (15%, 8/52), and SBP (17%, 8/47). Patients with higher MELD scores had higher death rates (Table 4). No differences in the first infection bacterial isolates were identified between survivors and those who died (gram-positive organisms in 19% of survivors versus 17% of those who died, P = 0.80). Of note, there was no effect of MRSA (0% versus 23%, P = 0.35), VRE (30% versus 22%, P = 0.70), or fluoro-quinolone resistance (15% versus 23%, P = 0.73) on mortality related to the first infection. However, the occurrence of a second infection (regardless of the origin of the first infection) was highly predictive of mortality (P < 0.00001) (Table 4). Table 4. Comparison Between Patients Who Died or Survived Died Survived P-value (n = 49) (n = 158) Age 54.9 (8.6) 55.3 (9.5) 0.77 Admission MELD 25.4 (7.5) 18.5 (7.2) <0.0001 Admission albumin 2.4 (0.6) 2.8 (0.7) 0.002 Admission serum sodium 132.5 (6.4) 131.3 (6.1) 0.23 SOFA score 9.2 (5.4) 9.0 (7.7) 0.86 On beta-blockers 17 (35%) 71 (45%) 0.15 On PPIs 24 (49%) 87 (55%) 0.34 On rifaximin 21 (43%) 51 (32%) 0.23 On SBP prophylaxis 10 (20%) 35 (22%) 0.81 Nosocomial first infection 10 (20%) 22 (14%) 0.28 Length-of-stay 16.1 (12.7) 10.6 (13.5) 0.013 Events During Admission Second infection 24 (49%) 26 (16%) <0.0001 Intensive care unit 37 (76%) 35 (22%) <0.0001 Hepatic encephalopathy 44 (90%) 90 (57%) <0.0001 Variceal bleeding 15 (31%) 33 (31%) 0.08 Mechanical ventilation 31 (63%) 10 (6%) <0.0001 Hepato-renal syndrome 23 (47%) 31 (20%) <0.0001 Renal replacement therapy 14 (29%) 23 (15%) 0.019 Central line 39 (80%) 63 (40%) <0.0001 Parenteral nutrition 5 (10%) 8 (5%) 0.08 Large volume paracentesis 21 (43%) 62 (39%) 0.38 Using the regression model at baseline, the significant predictors of mortality from admission were MELD score (odds ratio [OR] = 1.123, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.067-1.1182, P < 0.0001), admission heart rate (OR = 1.028, 95% CI 1.006-1.052, P = 0.014), and admission serum albumin (OR = 0.490, 95% CI 0.268-0.896, P = 0.021). The R-square value was 0.1787, the −