Nosocomial Bacterial and Fungal Chest Infections in Cirrhotic Patients ‎

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Background and aim: For a long time, the connection between liver cirrhosis (LC) and infections ‎had been studied extensively. Because of their weakened immune system, ‎cirrhotic patients are more likely to contract infectious diseases. Cirrhotic ‎patients are more likely to undergo invasive diagnostic or surgical ‎procedures that can change the host's protective barrier, putting them at a ‎higher risk of contracting an infection‎‎. Patients and Methods: ‎The study was conducted over one year duration between January and ‎December 2019 at intensive care unit (ICU). It enrolled all patients with ‎decompensated LC but patients with compensated LC or underlying ‎chronic chest disease were excluded. Baseline evaluation with laboratory ‎data was done in all patients. Blood and sputum cultures were achieved in ‎patients with suspected NCI‎.‎ Results: ‎845 patients with LC were admitted to ICU but 345 of them were excluded ‎so, 500 patients were enrolled in the analysis. NCI occurred in 100 (20%) ‎patients. The most frequent isolated organisms were Klebsiella species ‎‎(32%), Candida albicans (19%), Strept.pneumoniae (12%) and ‎Staph.aureus (10%). All of these infections were in form of pneumoniae. ‎Up to 65% of patients with NCI were died. Based on the current study the ‎predictors of NCI were; old age spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and low ‎serum albumin‎‎. Conclusion: Patients with liver cirrhosis are liable to infections secondary to ‎dysregulated immunity. NCI in cirrhotic patients has serious outcome. ‎Hospitalized cirrhotic patients should be screened for NCI‎.