To determine the incidence of cardiac device-related infection (CDRI) among patients with cardiac device (CD) during late-onset bloodstream infection (BSI) and to identify the risk factors associated with CDRI.

Patients with a CD (cardiac implantable electronic devices -CIED- and/or prosthetic heart valve -PHV-) and late-onset-BSI (>1 year after the CD implantation/last manipulation) were selected from the PROBAC project, a prospective, observational cohort study including adult patients with bacteraemia consecutively admitted to 26 Spanish hospitals from October 2016 to March 2017. Multivariate analyses using logistic regression were performed to identify the risk factors associated with CDRI.

317 BSI from patients carrying a CD were registered, 187 (56.2%) were late-onset-BSI. A total of 40 (21.4%) CDRI were identified during late-onset-BSI. The CDRI cumulative incidence in Gram-positive-BSI was 41.8% (38/91), with S. aureus, Enterococcus spp. and viridans streptococci showing the greatest percentages: 40% (12/30), 42% (11/26) and 75% (6/8), respectively. Independent predictors of CDRI were an unknown source of infection (OR: 2.88 [CI 95%:1.18–7.06], p = 0.02), Gram-positive-aetiology (23.1 [5.23–102.1], p < 0.001) and persistent bacteraemia (4.81 [1.21–19], p = 0.03). In an exploratory analysis, S. aureus (3.99 [1.37–11.65], p = 0.011), Enterococcus spp. (5.21 [1.76–15.4], p = 0.003) and viridans streptococci (28.7 [4.71–173.5], p < 0.001) aetiology were also found to be risk factors for CDRI.

CDRI during late-onset-BSI is a frequent phenomenon. Risk of CDRI differs among species, happening in almost half of the Gram-positive-BSI. An unknown source of the primary infection, Gram-positive-aetiology -especially S. aureus, Enterococcus spp. and viridans streptococci-, and persistent bacteraemia were identified as risk factors for CDRI.