Pneumococcal bacteremia in patients with neoplastic disease

Abstract

Sixty cases of pneumococcal bacteremia at Memorial Hospital between 1955 and 1971 were reviewed. All had serious underlying diseases; 77% were receiving radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or steroid treatment. Patients with leukemia and lymphoma were particularly susceptible. Twenty-one percent had no evidence of localized infection and presented only with fever. Despite usually appropriate medical management, 53% of all patients died. The infecting serotypes differed markedly from previously reported series from general hospitals.