Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Surveillance of invasive device related nosocomial infections is important for planning infection control procedures. We aimed to evaluate these infections in intensive care unit patients during the period between 2009 and 2013 and the effect of malignancy on mortality rates in this group.
METHODS
Surveillance of nosocomial infections is done prospectively in our intensive care unit. The data of patients were recorded from our national surveillance system. The causative microorganisms of nosocomial infections were classified by conventional methods and verified by VITEK 2 automated system. “Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention” criteria were used to diagnose nosocomial infections.
RESULTS
Mean nosocomial infection incidence in this period was 40,75/1000 patient days and 85-100% of them were invasive device related nosocomial infections. We found that the usage of central venous catheter and catheter related bloodstream infection rates were declined significantly during this period (p: 0,0005). Gram negative bacilli, especially Acinetobacter spp were the most common microorganisms that caused catheter related blood stream infections and ventilator associated pneumoniae. Gram negative bacilli and Candida spp. were the most common microorganisms causing catheter related urinary tract infections. Intensive care unit mortality rates were statistically higher in patients with malignancy than the others in 2013 (p: 0,010).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
We observed that catheter related blood stream infection rates were decreased during the study period while catheter related urinary tract infections and ventilator associated pneumoniae rates did not change during the study period. Acinetobacter baumannii is a serious problem in our intensive care unit. We observed that intensive care unit mortality rate is higher in patients with invasive device related nosocomial infections in the presence of malignancy.