Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, intensified by rising antimicrobial resistance, especially in intensive care units (ICUs). Southern Bahia lacks data on HAIs. The aim of this study was to characterize the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory profile of patients diagnosed with HAIs caused by bacteria originating from ICUs in southern Bahia. This is a descriptive, observational study based on analysis of medical records and bacteriological reports of patients admitted to two ICUs of a public hospital located in southern Bahia, between May 2021 and April 2024, with laboratory diagnosis of central venous catheter-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), indwelling urinary catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), and lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) acquired in the ICUs. The sample consisted of data from 145 patients, collected after approval by the research ethics committee under CAAE number 74471523.6.0000.5526, approved on December 6, 2023. Culture data were used to determine the incidence of species and their antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Analyses were performed using Stata 15.0 statistical software. Of the total patients, 33.1% came from units within the same hospital, 17.9% from external healthcare units, and 49% were admitted directly to the ICUs. Most were aged 18–59 years. The most prevalent comorbidity was arterial hypertension (40.7%). Twenty-one percent had a diagnosis of COVID-19. ICU mortality was 54.5%. A total of 159 HAIs were identified; the most frequent was LRTI (49.7%), followed by CLABSI (33.3%) and CAUTI (17%). Gram-negative bacteria were the most frequently isolated (88.4%), with high carbapenem resistance rates in Serratia marcescens (72.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (42.9%), and Acinetobacter baumannii/haemolyticus (86.7%). The latter showed 90.0% of isolates resistant to amikacin. Among Gram-positive bacteria, 57.1% of Staphylococcus aureus were methicillin-resistant (MRSA). The bacterial resistance profiles found demonstrate the need to improve infection control strategies and to rationalize antimicrobial use, aiming to reduce circulation of resistant isolates and improve patient care.
Santos et al. (Sun,) studied this question.
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