Prevalence of Hospital-Acquired Infections in Neurosurgical Critical Care Units

Background: Patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) are at higher risk for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) due to a greater prevalence of immunosuppression, increased frequency of mechanical ventilation, and indwelling catheters. Growing knowledge about HAIs will make it probable to introduce different types of preventive measures.Aim of the study: To detect the prevalence of HAIs in neurosurgical critical care units at Fayoum university hospitals. Subjects and Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out at the neurosurgical critical care units in Fayoum university hospitals. Patients with symptoms and signs of HAIs were included in the study. Different specimens were collected: blood samples, wound swabs, urine, and endotracheal aspirates. Microorganism’s isolation and identification were performed according to the conventional microbiological methods.Results: Out of 488 patients, 92 patients showed signs of HAIs (18.8%). Gram negative bacteria represent 56/92(60.8%), gram positive bacteria were 22/92 (24%), and 14/92 (15.2%) were candida species (spp.). Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) was the most common isolated gram-negative bacilli [20/56 (35.7%)] followed by Klebsiella spp. [15/56 (26.7%)]. Catheter associated Urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common type of HAIs among the patients. Conclusions: Neurosurgical critical care patients experience difficult infectious disease challenges, we reported the prevalence of HAIs accounts for (18.8%) and P.aeruginosa was the most common organism followed by Klebsiella spp. And CAUTI is the most common type of HAIs. It is important to increases the preventive strategies in ICUs to decreases the prevalence of HAIs. Keywords: Hospital-acquired infections, neurosurgical patients, Prevalence.