title: Inherent Risk Factors for Nosocomial Infection in the Long Stay Critically Ill Child Without Known Baseline Immunocompromise: A Post Hoc Analysis of the CRISIS Trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nosocomial infection remains an important health problem in long stay (>3 days) pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients. Admission risk factors related to the development of nosocomial infection in long stay immune competent patients in particular are not known.
  
  
  METHODS
  Post-hoc analysis of the previously published Critical Illness Stress induced Immune Suppression (CRISIS) prevention trial database, to identify baseline risk factors for nosocomial infection. Because there was no difference between treatment arms of that study in nosocomial infection in the population without known baseline immunocompromise, both arms were combined and the cohort that developed nosocomial infection was compared with the cohort that did not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 254 long stay PICU patients without known baseline immunocompromise. Ninety (35%) developed nosocomial infection, and 164 (65%) did not. Admission characteristics associated with increased nosocomial infection risk were increased age, higher Pediatric Risk of Mortality version III score, the diagnoses of trauma or cardiac arrest and lymphopenia (P < 0.05). The presence of sepsis or infection at admission was associated with reduced risk of developing nosocomial infection (P < 0.05). In multivariable analysis, only increasing age, cardiac arrest and existing lymphopenia remained significant admission risk factors (P < 0.05); whereas trauma tended to be related to nosocomial infection development (P = 0.07).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that increasing age, cardiac arrest and lymphopenia predispose long stay PICU patients without known baseline immunocompromise to nosocomial infection. These findings may inform pre-hoc stratification randomization strategies for prospective studies designed to prevent nosocomial infection in this population.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; †Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; ‡Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University, Washington, DC; §Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan; ¶Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas; ‖Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Washington, DC; **Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; ††Department of Pediatrics, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; ‡‡Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia; §§Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Development, Rockville, Maryland; ¶¶Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; ‖‖Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; ***Department of Pediatrics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; and †††Department of Pediatrics, Washington University at St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carcillo
authors.forename: J Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Holubkov
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Kathleen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Meert
authors.forename: Kanwaljeet J S
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Newth
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Jeri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burr
authors.forename: Douglas F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Willson
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Shanley
authors.forename: Sabrina M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Heidemann
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: Tammara L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doctor
authors.forename: Angie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Webster
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors