Nosocomial infections in the intensive care units at a university hospitalin a developing country: Comparison with National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance intensive care unit rates

Objective: As a measure of the quality of care provided to patients in the intensive care unit, comparison of nosocomial infection rates with those of the National Nosocomial Infection surveillance was completed during a 3-ye ar observation period. Design: The study design was a prospective study during 3 years between 199 3 and 1995. During that period, patients at the medical/surgical and neuros urgical intensive care units and the high-risk nursery were surveyed for no socomial infections. Device use, bloodstream infection, urinary tract infec tion, and ventilator-associated pneumonia nosocomial infection rates were c alculated and compared with the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance published rates for the same period. Setting: The study setting was the medical/surgical intensive care unit, th e neurosurgical intensive care unit, and the high-risk nursery at the Jorda n University Hospital. Results: Overall infection rates were 17.2 per 100 patients in the medical/ surgical intensive care unit, 14.2 to 18.5 per 100 patients in the neurosur gical intensive care unit, and 13.4 to 73.5 per 100 patients in the high-ri sk nursery. When compared with the weight of the infants, these rates were 61.9 to 94 per 100 in infants weighing <1500 g, 26 to 30.8 per 100 patients in infants weighing >1500 g to 2500 g, and 11.7 to 14.4 per 100 in infants weighing >2500 g. Whereas device use was moderate, bloodstream infection a nd ventilator-associated pneumonia rates were >90th percentile for National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance in the high-risk nursery, and urinary tr act infection was >90th percentile in the medical/surgical and neurosurgica l intensive care units. Nosocomial infections at the intensive care units i n developing countries need further investigation and control.