{"title":"Bed occupancy and nosocomial infections in the intensive care unit: A retrospective observational study in a tertiary hospital.","authors":"T Wilson, D Nolte, S Omar","doi":"10.7196/SAJCC.2024.v40i2.1906","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major problem globally, contributing to prolonged hospital admissions and poor outcomes.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To examine HAI incidence and risk factors in an intensive care unit (ICU) during high v. low occupancy periods.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective, descriptive analysis investigated HAI incidence among adult patients admitted to the ICU at Chris Hani Baragwanath (CHBH) during a high (H2019) and low (L2020) occupancy. Data were extracted from the clinical records of 440 eligible patients.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found an increased risk of HAI during H2019 compared with L2020 (relative risk (RR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03 - 1.94). The overall frequency density of HAI was 25/1 000 ICU days. There was no difference in the distribution of the site of infection (blood v. other) (p=0.27) or bacterial category (Gram stain) (p=0.62). Five organisms accounted for 89% of pathogens: Klebsiella (26%), Staphylococcus (21%), Acinetobacter (16%), Candida (16%) and Enterobacter (10%). The incidence of multidrug-resistant/extensively drug-resistant (MDR/XDR) organisms was 4.2-fold higher (95% CI 1.3 - 13.4) during H2019 compared with L2020. Logistic regression analysis revealed two independent predictors of nosocomial infection: ICU length of stay (odds ratio (OR) 1.12, 95% CI 1.02 - 1.22) and intercostal drain duration in days (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.09 - 1.47).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>High occupancy in the ICU was associated with an increased risk of HAI and a greater incidence of MDR and XDR pathogens. Increasing ICU length of stay and invasive device duration were independent predictors of HAI.</p><p><strong>Contribution of the study: </strong>Hospital-acquired infections are a common problem and cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care units and general wards globally. However, there is very little literature on the topic from low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to provide insite into the unique factors that contribute to these infections in the South African context.</p>","PeriodicalId":75194,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African journal of critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Society","volume":"40 2","pages":"e1906"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11669152/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The Southern African journal of critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Society","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.7196/SAJCC.2024.v40i2.1906","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major problem globally, contributing to prolonged hospital admissions and poor outcomes.
Objectives: To examine HAI incidence and risk factors in an intensive care unit (ICU) during high v. low occupancy periods.
Methods: This retrospective, descriptive analysis investigated HAI incidence among adult patients admitted to the ICU at Chris Hani Baragwanath (CHBH) during a high (H2019) and low (L2020) occupancy. Data were extracted from the clinical records of 440 eligible patients.
Results: We found an increased risk of HAI during H2019 compared with L2020 (relative risk (RR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03 - 1.94). The overall frequency density of HAI was 25/1 000 ICU days. There was no difference in the distribution of the site of infection (blood v. other) (p=0.27) or bacterial category (Gram stain) (p=0.62). Five organisms accounted for 89% of pathogens: Klebsiella (26%), Staphylococcus (21%), Acinetobacter (16%), Candida (16%) and Enterobacter (10%). The incidence of multidrug-resistant/extensively drug-resistant (MDR/XDR) organisms was 4.2-fold higher (95% CI 1.3 - 13.4) during H2019 compared with L2020. Logistic regression analysis revealed two independent predictors of nosocomial infection: ICU length of stay (odds ratio (OR) 1.12, 95% CI 1.02 - 1.22) and intercostal drain duration in days (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.09 - 1.47).
Conclusion: High occupancy in the ICU was associated with an increased risk of HAI and a greater incidence of MDR and XDR pathogens. Increasing ICU length of stay and invasive device duration were independent predictors of HAI.
Contribution of the study: Hospital-acquired infections are a common problem and cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care units and general wards globally. However, there is very little literature on the topic from low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to provide insite into the unique factors that contribute to these infections in the South African context.