1 INTRODUCTION
Bacteremia, which can lead to sepsis, is a life-threatening organ dysfunction, caused by disorder of host response to infection, resulting in higher morbidity and mortality in the world[1]. In this condition, pathogenic bacteria penetrate the blood system, proliferate within the circulatory system, and discharge diverse metabolites, inciting a systemic inflammatory response. Bacteremia’s rapid progression and high mortality rate lead to an estimated 8 million deaths annually, underscoring the urgency of early diagnosis and treatment to curtail its fatality[2]. Particularly vulnerable are the elderly, given their reduced immunity. Furthermore, bacteremia’s course in older individuals is typically stealthy, with less apparent clinical symptoms. This leads to poor prognosis and increased mortality, so early detection and intervention are critical for this population[3].
Currently, the clinical ”gold standard” for diagnosing bacteremia is a laboratory blood culture [4]. However, this method’s significant drawback is its prolonged duration, taking about 5-7 days. Moreover, positive culture results necessitate contamination exclusion, and negative results do not entirely rule out bacteremia, increasing the risk of missing optimal diagnosis and treatment windows.
Medical practitioners continuously seek rapid biomarkers for diagnosing bacteremia, such as procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). While they can aid in bacteremia’s early detection, their moderate diagnostic efficacy, extended turnaround time, and high cost impose limitation.
Routine blood parameters, which are cost-effective, straightforward to operate, and suitable for primary hospitals, hold potential in predicting bacteremia. Numerous studies across the globe have highlighted routine blood’s value in identifying patients at high risk for bacteremia early and anticipating adverse outcomes[5].
However, the correlation between routine blood parameters and geriatric bacteremia, as well as the correlation between routine blood parameters and various bacterial pathogens of geriatric bacteremia, remain underexplored in China. This paper aims to report the associations between white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), and geriatric bacteremia, along with its bacterial pathogens.