Low-Risk Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Patients Do Not Require Routine Diagnostic Imaging: A Multicenter, Retrospective, Cohort Study.

Background: Stratification to categorize patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) as low or high risk for metastatic infection may direct diagnostic evaluation and enable personalized management. We investigated the frequency of metastatic infections in low-risk SAB patients, their clinical relevance, and whether omission of routine imaging is associated with worse outcomes.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study at 7 Dutch hospitals among adult patients with low-risk SAB, defined as hospital-acquired infection without treatment delay, absence of prosthetic material, short duration of bacteremia, and rapid defervescence.