Abstract
BackgroundNosocomial infections (NIs) are an important cause of mortality, and increasing evidence reveals that the prevalence of NIs can be reduced through effective prevention and control measures. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the prevention and control measures for the COVID-19 pandemic on NIs.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted to analyze the prevalence of NIs before and after COVID-19 pandemic for 6 months in the Children’s Hospital of Soochow University.ResultsA total of 39,914 patients in 2019 and 34,645 patients in 2020 were admitted to the hospital during the study. There were 1.39% (481/34645) of patients with NIs in 2020, which was significantly lower than the 2.56% (1021/39914) of patients in 2019. The rate of critical and fatal cases was also decreased. In addition, the rate of appropriate handwashing, the number of protective gloves and aprons used per person and the number of healthcare staff per patients were significantly increased. Except for the ICU, the prevalence of nosocomial infection in most departments decreased from 2019 to 2020. Regarding the source of infections, a significant reduction was mainly observed in respiratory (0.99% vs 0.42%, p = 0.000) and digestive tract (0.63% vs 0.14%, p = 0.000). The microorganism analysis of respiratory infections indicated an obvious decline in acinetobacters and fungi. The most significant decline of pathogens in gastrointestinal infections was observed for rotavirus. The comparison of catheter-related nosocomial infections between 2019 and 2020 did not show significant differences.ConclusionsThe prevention and control measures for the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced the nosocomial infection in almost all departments, except the ICU, mainly regarding respiratory, gastrointestinal, and oral infections, while catheter-related infections did not show any differences.
Highlights
Nosocomial infections (NIs) are an important cause of mortality, and increasing evidence reveals that the prevalence of NIs can be reduced through effective prevention and control measures
The incidence rate of nosocomial infection in the post-COVID-19 group was 1.39% (481/34645), which was significantly lower than the 2.56% (1021/39914) in the pre-COVID19 group
Preventing nosocomial infections, presents an important challenge to clinicians and health service managers [1,2,3]. In this pointprevalence survey conducted in our center, we found that nosocomial infections affected 1.39% of hospitalized patients in 2020—a significantly lower percentage than we observed in a survey conducted in 2019, which was 2.56%
Summary
Nosocomial infections (NIs) are an important cause of mortality, and increasing evidence reveals that the prevalence of NIs can be reduced through effective prevention and control measures. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the prevention and control measures for the COVID-19 pandemic on NIs. Nosocomial infections (NIs) are one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity in hospitals, affecting hundreds of millions of patients around the world [1, 2]. Hospitals at all levels have strengthened infection control. It is not clear how these preventative initiatives based on the COVID-19 pandemic affect the incidence of nosocomial infections. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in the prevalence of nosocomial infections
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