Photo Credit: Bet_Noire

The following is a summary of “Predictors of severe disease in Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis bacteremia: a population-based study,” published in the April 2025 issue of BMC Infectious Diseases by Saukkosaari et al. 

Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE) had become a major cause of invasive β-hemolytic streptococcal infections in numerous countries and was increasingly recognized as a cause of severe disease, yet clinical data on severe SDSE disease remained limited.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to identify predictors of severe disease in SDSE bacteremia.  

They reviewed 217 episodes of SDSE bacteremia in 211 adult individuals from the Pirkanmaa area, Finland, between August 2015 and June 2018. Severe disease was defined as admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) and/or death.  

The results showed that 10% of the individuals had severe disease, and the overall (OA) 30-day case-fatality rate was 7.8%. Alcohol abuse (odds ratio [OR] 5.5 [95% CI 1.1–28], P= 0.038) and malignancy (OR 4.2 [1.3–13], P= 0.014) were significantly linked to severe disease. Unconsciousness (OR 23 [1.9–271], P= 0.018), dyspnea (OR 5.4 [1.7–17], P= 0.005), and falling (OR 3.8 [1.1–13], P= 0.031) as initial symptoms or signs were predictive of severe disease.  

Investigators concluded that alcohol abuse, malignancy, unconsciousness, dyspnea, and falling as initial signs of infection were linked with severe disease in SDSE bacteremia. 

Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-025-10966-8