Incidence and clinical complications of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus in pediatric stem cell transplant patients

Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) are increasingly important pathogens in stem cell transplant (SCT). In all, 61 pediatric SCT patients had surveillance stool cultures for VRE between July 1999 and November 2002. When VRE was identified, the patients were placed on strict contact isolation. VRE was detected in 15 patients (24.6%). The median age was 3.6 years (range 0.6–18.5 years). Of the 15, 13 (87%) received an allogeneic transplant (six unrelated and seven related). Five of the 15 (33%) colonized patients developed VRE bacteremia. The bacteremia resolved in all five patients after therapy with quinupristin/dalfopristin; three patients required central line removal. Four patients died (38–153 days) post-SCT due to relapse or transplant complication not related to VRE. Of the 11 surviving patients, seven cleared the colonization at a median of 144 days (range 61–198 days) postcolonization. Four patients remain colonized at 68–702 days after the first positive culture. Intestinal colonization with VRE occurred commonly in pediatric SCT patients. Although the morbidity from VRE was not substantial, transplant patients were colonized for prolonged periods. Our results indicate that surveillance for VRE is an effective way to identify colonized patients and may lead to a decrease in transmission to other patients.