A 5- Year Surveillance of Nosocomial Infections in a University Hospital: A Retrospective Analysis

OBJECTIVE: ‘Nosocomial infections’ or ‘healthcare associated infections’ are a significant public health problem around the world. This study aimed to assess the rate of culture confirmed nosocomial infections (NIs), frequency of nosocomial pathogens and the antimicrobial resistance patterns of bacterial isolates in a University Hospital. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of NIs in a tertiary hospital, between the years 2015 and 2019 in Tekirdag, Turkey. RESULTS : During the five years, the overall incidence rates (NI/100) and incidence densities (NI/1000 days of stay) of NIs were 2.04% (range 1.76-2.41/100) and 3.50/1000 patients-days (range 2.85-4.64/1000), respectively. 57.4 % of the infections were originated from the Intensive Care Units. The most common NIs according to the primary sites were bloodstream infections (55.3 %) and, pneumonia (20.4%). 67.5% of the isolated microorganisms as nosocomial agents were Gram negative bacteria, 24.9% of Gram positive bacteria and 7.6 % of candida. The most frequently isolated causative agents were Esherichia coli (16.7%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15.7%). The rate of extended spectrum beta-lactamase production among E. coli isolates was 51.1%. Carbapenem resistance was 29.8% among isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; 95.1% among isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii , 18.2% among isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae . Colistin resistance was 2.4% among isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii . Vancomycin resistance was 5.3% among isolates of Enterococci. CONCLUSION: Our study results demonstrates the microorganisms of isolated from Intensive Care Units demonstrates high level resistance to many antimicrobial agents. The rising in incidence of multidrug-resistant microorganisms indicate that more interventions are urgently needed to reduce NIs in our ICUs.