A study on the incidence of nosocomial infections in a large University hospital

Abstract

The results of a study on the incidence of nosocomial infections in a 1800 bed University hospital are reported. The study, carried out over a 9 months period, included: continuous microbiological surveillance, and a clinical and epidemiological survey. On the basis of the microbiological data collected and analyzed by a computer data system, developed and employed for the control of nosocomial infections, a weekly bed-to-bed survey was carried out by the staff of the Institute of Infectious Diseases. Among 2777 suspected nosocomial infections, as revealed by microbiological monitoring, 701 were confirmed after the bed-to-bed survey. The nosocomial infection rate was 6.75 per 100 discharges. It was higher in the surgical than in the medical wards (7.3 and 6 per 100 discharges, respectively). Nosocomial urinary tract infections were the most frequent (74.2%). The urinary infection rate was higher in the surgical than in the medical wards (5.3 and 4.6 per 100 discharges, respectively). Escherichia coli (19.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.3%), Proteus spp. (18.4%) were the pathogens most frequently associated with nosocomial infections. They were followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (7.8%) and Staphylococcus aureus (6.5%) in frequency. Among the risk factors, involved in nosocomial infections, the importance of catheterization was confirmed: among our patients with nosocomial urinary tract infections, 73.4% and 79.5%--in the medical and surgical wards, respectively--underwent urological instrumentation, mainly catheterization. An analogous and more detailed study is now in progress and will be extended in the next years.

Hospital acquired infections surveillance and control in intensive care services. Results of an incidence study

“…UTIs in catheterized patients appeared to be related to the presence of the urinary catheter in 83% of our cases. These findings are consistent with those of other studies (7,8,12,29).…”

“…Our data differ from some HAI incidence studies carried out in general hospital populations (7,28,29) and f o r m NNIS data (4,17) in which UTIs account for more than 40% of all infections. They differ also f r o m Allgower's study on 300 selected t r a u m a patients in which UTIs constituted 50% of the HAIs (2).…”

Risk factors for colonization and infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients hospitalized in intensive care units in France

“…Pathogens responsible for those infections are often multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. Among those pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is often encountered [ 6 ] and is responsible for severe infections, difficult to manage, such as ventilator associated pneumonia, bacteremia or skin infections, mainly in immunocompromised patients [ 7 ] with already a poor baseline prognosis. Indeed this bacteria, once it has colonized the patient digestive mucosa or skin, can lead to infections by immune deficiency and skin or mucosa breach by indwelling invasive device for example.…”

Self‐sterilization using silicone catheters coated with Ag and TiO2 nanocomposite thin film

“…E. coli is frequently found in urinary tract infections 26, 27 . P. aeruginosa infection occurs in patients with endotracheal and urinary catheters,28 and S. aureus infection exists in patients with prosthetic devices,3 venous catheters, and peritoneal dialysis catheters 29. When an Ag/TiO 2 catheter is intermittently exposed to an appropriate intensity of UV light, the self‐cleaning property of TiO 2 allows the coated catheter to possess a long‐lasting bactericidal property.…”