Device-associated infection rates with microbiological profile and antibiogram pattern from an adult medical-surgical intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Ubiquitous medical devices are major cause of health care associated infections. Surveillance of these infections plays a key role in control of hospital-acquired infections. Materials and methods In a prospective surveillance in medical surgical intensive care unit, device-associated health care associated infection rates were calculated using the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System and National Healthcare Safety Network guidelines. Results Fifty-four episodes of device-associated infections were documented among 563 patients. Rates for ventilator-associated pneumonia, central line-associated bloodstream infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections were 16.7, 10.3 and 7.3 respectively with the overall device-associated nosocomial infection rate of 24.6/1000 days. The device utilization ratio was maximum for urinary catheter (0.99:1) followed by 0.68:1 for ventilator and 0.57:1 for central line. An overall crude excess mortality of 30.3% was observed. 40.7% of device-associated health care associated infections were caused by Klebsiella species. Imipenem and vancomycin showed maximum sensitivity to gram negative and positive organisms respectively. Conclusion Device-associated health care associated infections, the principal threat to patient safety in the intensive care unit, are among the predominant causes of patient morbidity and mortality. Surveillance of these infections allows estimation of infection control measures adopted.