Listeria bacteremia in patients from a Peruvian oncologic institute, 2005-2015

Abstract

Listeriosis infection is a severe disease, with high morbidity and mortality in the immunocompromised patient, especially with disseminated and fatal presentations in cancer patients. A descriptive study was developed to describe the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics in oncologic patients with listeriosis
in the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas between the years 2005-2015. A total of 29 patients were included; 23 (79.3%) of the listeriosis cases showed up in patients with hematological neoplasia, of which 52.1% was acute lymphatic leukemia and 39.1% non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The 72.4% of the isolated species correspond to Listeria monocytogenes. Twenty-seven (93.1%) patients met sepsis criteria and twenty-four (82.7%) had neurologic affection. Bacteremia was the most common presentation, followed by eningoencephalitis (20.6%). Global mortality was 75.8%. In conclusion in cancer patients, listeriosis implies high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the suspicion of this entity is mandatory in onco-hematologic patients with sepsis and acute neurologic symptoms.