Retrospective study reveals increased incidence and antimicrobial resistance of bloodstream infections in ICU patients, suggesting improved infection control measures are necessary.
Background Objective To analyze the evolution of the incidence, etiology, and antimicrobial resistance of intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired blood stream infections (BSIs) during the prepandemic, pandemic, and postpandemic periods (2017–2024), evaluating their impact on in-hospital mortality.Figure 1:Pathogens by Source of Bloodstream InfectionTable 1:Characteristics of bloodstream infection Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted, including 226 patients over 18 years old with (ICU)-acquired BSI from Clínica Universitaria Colombia. Demographic, clinical, microbiological, and mortality variables were analyzed. Univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were used to identify significant differences.Table 2:Antimicrobial Resistance profile of identified pathogens Results During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the incidence of ICU-acquired infections increased to 1.08%, compared to the prepandemic period 0.72% and postpandemic period 0.64%. Catheter-associated bloodstream infections were the most prevalent during the pandemic period, predominantly caused by methicillin-resistant gram-positive cocci. An increasing trend in the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant organisms was observed in the post-pandemic period (from 6.8% to 13.6%) compared to previous periods. No significant differences were observed in the overall mortality of patients with ICU-acquired BSIs across the periods. An increase in the consumption of antibiotics against methicillin-resistant gram-positive cocci and ceftazidimeavibactam was observed. Conclusion The findings demonstrate an increased incidence of ICU-acquired BSIs during the pandemic, along with a rise in carbapenem resistance in the post-pandemic period. These results highlights the need to adjust empirical antimicrobial strategies, reinforce antimicrobial stewardship programs, and enhance infection control measures in critical care setting. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures
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Cho et al. (2026) studied this question.
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