Serratia sp. infections in cancer patients

There was a sixfold increase in the incidence of patients with specimens containing Serratia sp. in this institution during 1968. Serratia sp caused infection in 52% of the patients from whom it was isolated. Most of the patients who became infected had gynecologic or hematologic malignancies. Two thirds of the patients who became infected had received prior antibiotic therapy. Forty-two percent of isolates of Serratia sp. were resistant to all antibiotics in general use at this institution. The majority of infections involved the urinary tract, but there were 8 episodes of septicemia. The response rate, regardless of type of antibiotic therapy, was 47%. Gentamicin sulfate was administered during 15 infections, and the response rate was 53%. The isolates of Serratia s p causing these 15 infections were resistant to all other antibiotics except nalidixic acid.