Simulation of the Possible Routes of <i>Acinetobacter spp.</i> Transmission in the Intensive Care Units: An Agent-Based Computational Study

Background and Aim:The healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are serious adverse events that mostly occur in the intensive care units (ICUs).Among different infection types, ventilator-associated events (VAE) are of particular concern.This study aimed to identify the risk factors involved in the transmission of Acinetobacter spp. in ICU settings using an agentbased model (ABM). Materials and Methods:For this purpose, an ABM of the patients was designed in a regional network of four hospitals in Mashhad, Iran from April 2017 to September 2019 and all necessary parameters for the model input were measured.The Net Logo and R software were utilized for implementing the ABM, and experimental design data analysis, respectively.Results: A total of 4677 HAI events in ICUs were recorded.Acinetobacter spp.(21.8%) were the most common pathogens isolated from ICU patients, followed by Klebsiella spp.(13.2%) and Staphylococcus spp.(12.2%).The HAIs in the first place were in the form of VAE (37.7%) caused by Acinetobacter spp. in more than half of the study population (58.5%). Conclusion:The simulation methods such as ABM are useful for intervention and management of planning, futurism, and mortality and costs reduction.Using the appropriate tools to control the hospital infections according to the guidelines and bundle of the World Health Organization (WHO) will reduce the probability of transmitting nosocomial infections and Acinetobacter spp. in ICU.In this study; patient-related parameters were implied.More intervention studies are recommended.