Abstract

Objective: Nosocomial infections are a prominent problem resulting in high mortality. Intensive care units (ICU) are the areas where nosocomial infections are mostly common. The present study aimed to surveil the nosocomial infections in the ICU of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Medical School Hospital.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted between January, 2003 and July, 2006 at the Intensive Care Unit (YBÜ) of our hospital. APACHE II score of sedation and Glasgow Coma Scores upon admission, presence of any sub-diseases, any history of operations, time in the intensive care unit and in the hospital were recorded for all the patients who had stayed in the ICU for longer than 48 hours

Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the mean ages, APACHE II scores, and mortality rates of the patients with an infection and the patients without an infection. The hospitalization time in the hospital and in the ICU of infected patients was significantly higher than that of the uninfected patients. The mortality rate of the infected group in the ICU was 26.7 %. No correlations were found between APACHE II scores and development of infection. As the APACHE II scores increased, the mortality rate of infected and uninfected patients increased. Accompanying disease was not a risk factor for the development of infection. The risk for the development of infection was higher in the patients who had undergone an operation. As the duration of hospitalization in both the ICU and hospital increased, the risk for the development of nosocomial infection increased. Hospitalization time in the ICU and mortality associated with infection were positively correlated. The most common nosocomial infection was bacteriamia (32.0%), followed by urinary tract infection, surgical site infection and pneumonia (30.5%, 21.44% and 15.2% respectively).

Conclusion: Our results indicate that nosocomial infection rate in the ICU of our hospital is relatively high. Thus, serious measures should be taken to overcome nosocomial infection risk.