Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence: T. For commercial re-use, please contact journals. Bloodstream infection and sepsis are major causes of health loss worldwide, and it is important to identify patients at risk of developing and dying from these conditions.
The single-nucleotide polymorphism most strongly associated with sepsis mortality is FER rs However, it is not known how this variant is associated with bloodstream infection incidence and mortality. Genotypes were ascertained from blood samples, and additional genotypes were imputed. Information on bloodstream infection and diagnosis codes at hospitalization were collected through record linkage with all hospitals in the area.
A total of 69 patients were included. Patients with the rs CC genotype had an increased risk of developing a bloodstream infection compared with the TT genotype hazard ratio [HR], 1. However, there was a protective additive effect of the C allele in terms of mortality in the total study population HR, 0.
The results did not appear to be affected by selection bias. The rs CC genotype was associated with an increased risk of contracting a bloodstream infection but with a reduced risk of dying from one. The latter finding is in line with studies of sepsis case fatality, while the former expands our understanding of the immunoregulatory role of this polymorphism. Keywords: FER tyrosine kinase, genetic association studies, prospective studies, bacteremia, sepsis.
The C allele of FER rs has been associated with reduced sepsis case fatality. In this prospective study of 69 patients, the C allele increases the risk of developing bloodstream infection but reduces the risk of dying from one. Bacteremia associated with infection, or bloodstream infection BSI , is an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally [ 1 , 2 ] and is closely linked to organ dysfunction and sepsis [ 3 ]. It is therefore key to identify patients at risk of developing BSI or sepsis.
