Table 1 Comparison of demographic and clinical characteristics between the case group and the control group

Demographic variable

 Median age, years (IQR)

72 (59–79)

72 (63–79)

71 (58–78)

0.183

 Male sex, n (%)

176 (45.1)

98 (50.3)

78 (40.0)

0.042

Admission route

0.046

 Emergency room

97 (24.9)

40 (20.5)

57 (29.2)

 Outpatient setting

293 (75.1)

155 (79.5)

138 (70.8)

Variables from current admission

 Median length of hospital stay before VRE acquisition, days (IQR)

21 (14–32)

21 (14–32)

46 (27–77)

0.522

 MRSA nasal carriage, n (%)

32 (8.2%)

32 (16.4%)

0

< 0.001

Comorbidities, n (%)

 Cardiovascular diseases

233 (59.7)

119 (61.0)

114 (58.5)

0.606

 Neurologic diseases

84 (21.5)

39 (20.0)

45 (23.1)

0.460

 Malignancy diseases

64 (16.4)

29 (14.9)

35 (17.9)

0.412

 Renal diseases

47 (12.1)

26 (13.3)

21 (10.8)

0.427

 Hepatic diseases

36 (9.2)

15 (7.7)

21 (10.8)

0.294

 Pulmonary diseases

43 (11.0)

15 (7.7)

28 (14.4)

0.036

 Metabolic diseases

132 (33.8)

70 (35.9)

62 (31.8)

0.392

 Hematologic diseases

4 (1.0)

0

4 (2.1)

0.123

 Median Charlson comorbidity score (IQR)

2 (1–2)

1 (1–2)

2 (1–3)

0.020

 Charlson comorbidity score ≥ 3, n (%)

82 (21.0)

28 (14.4)

54 (27.7)

0.001

Exposure to antimicrobial in the previous 90 days, n (%)

 Vancomycin

161 (41.3)

81 (41.5)

80 (41.0)

0.918

 Imipenem

170 (43.6)

92 (47.2)

78 (40.0)

0.153

 Cephalosporins

225 (57.7)

122 (62.6)

103 (52.8)

0.051

 Fluoroquinolones

196 (50.3)

106 (54.4)

90 (46.2)

0.105

Procedures in the previous 90 days, n (%)

 Urinary catheter

326 (83.6)

171 (87.7)

155 (79.5)

0.029

 Enteral feeding tube

254 (65.1)

144 (73.8)

110 (56.4)

< 0.001

 Mechanical ventilator

201 (51.5)

116 (59.5)

85 (43.6)

0.002

 Prior ICU admission

356 (91.3)

184 (94.4)

172 (88.2)

0.031

 Prior operative procedure

221 (56.1)

105 (53.8)

116 (59.5)

0.261

Positive clinical culture during current admission, n (%)

 MRSA positive

162 (41.5)

114 (58.5)

48 (24.6)

< 0.001

 VRE positive

55 (14.1)

23 (11.8)

32 (16.4)

0.190

 Co-isolation of VRE and MRSA

23 (5.9)

17 (8.7)

6 (3.1)

0.032

Episodes of infections during current admission, n (%)

 VRE infection

14 (3.6)

5 (2.6)

9 (4.6)

0.276

 MRSA infection

197 (50.5)

111 (56.9)

86 (44.1)

0.011

Clinical outcomes

 In-hospital mortality, n (%)

93 (23.8)

48 (24.6)

45 (23.1)

0.721

 Attributable mortality, n (%)

 MRSA

18 (4.6)

16 (8.2)

2 (1.0)

0.002

 VRE

0

0

0

–

 Length of hospital stay after VRE acquisition, median (IQR), days

18 (6–46)

21 (7–47)

14 (5–46)

0.089