The Rate of Device-Associated Nosocomial Infections in a Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit of a Training and Research Hospital in Turkey: One-Year Outcomes

In the present study, we aimed to assess the rate and effect of device-associated nosocomial infections (DANIs), as well as the rate of antibiotic resistance, in the medical-surgical intensive care unit (ICU) of a research and training hospital in Turkey, and to compare our results with those reported by the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system and International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC). A total of 509 patients were followed up within a 1-year period from 1 November 2007 to 1 November 2008. The total patient days were 4,087, the number of DANIs was 181. The ventilator-associated pneumonia rate in 1,000 ventilator days was 27.1, the rate of central venous catheter (CVC)-associated blood circulation infections in 1,000 CVC days was 11.8, and the rate of urinary catheter-associated urinary tract infections in 1,000 urinary catheter days was 9.6. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter spp. Of the infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, 81.2% were due to methicillin-resistant strains. Of the Enterobacteriaceae isolates, 53.5% were found to be resistant to ceftriaxone, while 29% of the P. aeruginosa isolates were found to be resistant to ciprofloxacin. The rates of use of devices such as ventilators, CVCs, and urinary catheters were 0.87, 0.93, and 0.98, respectively, which are higher than the rates reported by NNIS and INICC. On the other hand, the present DANI rate was higher than that reported by NNIS, but close to that reported by INICC. We conclude that the indications for and duration of device use should be reviewed.