FREQUENCY, PATTERN AND ETIOLOGY OF NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: AN EXPERIENCE AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Authors

  • Jan Muhammad Shaikh
  • Bikha Ram Devrajani
  • Syed Zulfiquar Ali Shah
  • Tauseefullah Akhund
  • Ishrat Bibi

Abstract

Background: Nosocomial infection is defined as an infection which develops 48 hours afterhospital admission or within 48 hours after being discharged. The objectives were to assess thefrequency of nosocomial infection in patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and todetermine the etiological factors in such patients. It was an Observational Study and conducted inIntensive Care Unit, Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad Sindh Pakistan from January 2008 toNovember 2008. Methods: All patients above 16 years of age admitted in the ICU for more than48 hours and developed clinical evidence of infection that did not originate from patients' originaldiagnosis at the time of admission, were included in the study. Data was entered in a proforma andanalyzed using SPSS version 10.0. Results: During the study period, 97 out of 333 patientsacquired nosocomial infection. The frequency of nosocomial infection was 29.13%. Respiratorytract infection was seen in 29 (30.1%), urinary tract infection in 38 (39.1%) and blood streaminfection in 23 (23.7%) patients. Other infections we identified were skin, soft tissue, wound andgastrointestinal tract infections. Conclusion: Patients admitted in intensive care unit are at morerisk of acquiring nosocomial infection from different sources. It is suggested that proper nursingcare, sterilization and disinfection of instruments and equipment and careful handling of invasiveprocedures are the best tool to control these life threatening infections.Keywords: intensive care unit, Nosocomial infection, Hospital acquired infection

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Published

2008-12-01