The characteristics of bloodstream infections in patients admitted to long-term care wards remain unclear. This study examined differences in nosocomial-onset urinary tract-related bloodstream infections (UTRBSIs) and catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) between patients admitted to long-term and acute care wards.

This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a mixed-care hospital with long-term and acute care wards from April 2015 to March 2024. Patient backgrounds, causative pathogens, antibiotic resistance, and treatment patterns were compared between the two groups.

Among the 252 patients, 108 (42.9 %) were diagnosed with UTRBSIs and 87 (34.5 %) with CRBSIs. In UTRBSIs, the long-term care group had significantly longer hospitalization (721 vs. 16 days, P < 0.001), more frequent use of indwelling urinary catheters (76.7 % vs. 28.6 %, P < 0.001), and higher isolation rates of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (41.1 % vs. 8.6 %, P < 0.001). Piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem were significantly more frequently used empirically in the long-term care group. In CRBSIs, the isolation rates of main causative pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (9.5 % vs. 6.7 %, P = 0.707) and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. (40.5 % vs. 48.9 %, P = 0.519), showed no significant differences between the two groups despite differences in patient backgrounds. Anti-MRSA agents were rarely used empirically in both groups (19.0 % vs. 15.6 %, P = 0.779).

Patients admitted to long-term care wards may require empirical therapy for UTRBSIs targeting drug-resistant Enterobacterales, while for CRBSIs, empirical use of anti-MRSA agents may be considered, similar to patients admitted to acute care wards.

Long-term care

Acute care

Nosocomial-onset bloodstream infections

Antibiotic resistance

Empirical antibiotic therapy

bloodstream infections

Charlson Comorbidity Index

Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute

catheter-related bloodstream infections

extended-spectrum β-lactamase

minimum inhibitory concentration

methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp.

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

piperacillin/tazobactam

urinary tract infections

urinary tract-related bloodstream infections

© 2025 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy, Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases, and Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.