In Denmark, we recently reported an increasing incidence of, but decreasing in-hospital mortality associated with, adult SAB in the general population [16]. A single study has reported the incidence, clinical characteristics and outcomes of HIV-associated SAB in the early-HAART period [4]. The present study used data from the

ongoing nationwide registration of all Danish cases of SAB, as well as HIV-infected individuals to explore trends and factors associated with the risk of SAB. Denmark, with a population of 5.4 million [17], has an estimated HIV prevalence of 0.07% among adults in the general population [18]. The Danish health care system provides free medical care and treatment for those with HIV infection. The study was carried out by linking three nationwide databases: the Danish Civil Registration click here System (CRS), the Danish Staphylococcal Database and the Danish HIV Cohort Study (DHCS). A unique 10-digit civil registration number is assigned to all residents

Tanespimycin mouse in Denmark, and this prevents multiple registrations and allows easy tracking of individuals across various databases and registers. The CRS contains information on birth, immigration, emigration and death [19]. Continuous, nationwide registration of patients with SAB in Denmark has been carried out at the Staphylococcal Laboratory at the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), Copenhagen, since 1956 and the database has been described in detail elsewhere [16,20,21]. In brief, the Staphylococcal Laboratory receives positive blood culture isolates from all cases of SAB from 14 of 15 departments of clinical microbiology in Denmark for typing and national surveillance. Clinical data are extracted annually from discharge records. Data used in this study included:

date of SAB during the study period, age, gender, origin of bacteraemia (HA or CA) and antibiotic susceptibility testing. HA SAB is defined as SAB diagnosed more than 48 h after admission, catheter-related infections or otherwise health care-associated infections. CA SAB is defined as SAB diagnosed <48 h after hospital admission and none of the above. Cases diagnosed more than 12 weeks DNA ligase apart were considered repetitive SABs, whereas cases diagnosed within 12 weeks were considered relapses. If an individual had repetitive SABs in the study period, only the first episode was used to explore risk factors associated with SAB, whereas all cases of SAB were used to calculate incidence rates (IRs). The DHCS is a prospective, observational, nationwide, multicentre, population-based cohort study of all HIV-infected individuals seen in Danish HIV clinics since 1 January 1995. The cohort has been described in detail elsewhere [18,22].