The Epidemiology of Nosocomial Infections Caused byKlebsiella pneumoniae

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae causes serious epidemic and endemic nosocomial infections. We conducted a literature review to characterize the epidemiology of epidemic K. pneumoniae outbreaks. Eighty percent of the outbreaks (20/25) involved infections of the bloodstream or urinary tract. Person-to-person spread was the most common mode of transmission, and nearly 50% of the outbreaks occurred in neonatal intensive care units. No one serotype predominated, and no association was found between serotype and either the site of infection or the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern.