title: Nosocomial infections in a neurosurgery intensive care unit.
abstract: In order to identify overall and site-specific nosocomial infection (NI) rates in patients receiving neurosurgical intensive care therapy, a prospective study was started in February 1997 in the eight-bed neurosurgical ICU of the University Hospital of Freiburg, Germany. Case records were reviewed twice a week, all microbiology reports were reviewed and ward staff was consulted. NI were defined according to the CDC-criteria and were categorised into specific infection sites. Within 20 months, 545 patients with a total of 5,117 patient days were investigated (mean length of stay: 9.4 days). 113 NI were identified in 90 patients (72 pts. with one, 13 with two and 5 with three infections, respectively). A moderate to high overall incidence (20.7/100 pts.) and a moderate incidence density (22.1/1,000 patient days) of NI in the neurosurgical ICU could be documented; these figures are well within the range of published data. Site specific incidence rates and incidence densities were: 1 bloodstream infection per 100 patients (0.9 central line-associated BSIs per 1,000 central line-days), 9 pneumonias per 100 patients (15.1 ventilator-associated pneumonias per 1,000 ventilator-days), 7.3 urinary tract infections per 100 patients (8.5 urinary catheter-associated UTIs per 1,000 urinary catheter-days). Additionally, 1.1 cases of meningitis, 0.7 brain abscesses/ventriculitis, and 1.7 other infections (surgical site infection, bronchitis, catheter related local infection, diarrhoea) were documented per 100 patients, respectively. 14.6% of isolated pathogens were E. coli, 10.2% enterococci, 9.6% S. aureus, 6.4% CNS, 6.4% Klebsiella spp., 5% Enterobacter spp. and 5% Pseudomonas spp. In 11 cases of NI no pathogen could be isolated.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dettenkofer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ebner
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Hans
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Forster
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Babikir
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zentner
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pelz
authors.forename: F D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Daschner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*