Prevalence and mortality rate of healthcare-associated infections among COVID-19 patients: a retrospective cohort community-based approach

• Published in: Frontiers in public health Vol. 11; p. 1235636
• Main Authors: Fakhreddine, Soha, Fawaz, Mirna, Hassanein, Salwa, Al Khatib, Alissar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 10-08-2023
• Subjects: COVID-19; HAI; mortality rate; prevalence; Public Health; severity
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1235636

Background
The prevalence of HAI among COVID-19 patients ranged between 4.8% and 42.8% with the highest occurrence observed in critically ill patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical features of HAI in severe and critical COVID-19 patients, their microbiological characteristics, and the attributable risk factors.
Methods
This is an analytical observational, retrospective single-center, cohort study that included 723 patients with severe-critical COVID-19 admitted to Saint George Hospital between September 2020 and February 2021. Data collection included demographic variables (sex, age), comorbidities, laboratory findings, HAI types and agents, COVID-19 treatment modalities, hospitalization settings, length of stay, and mortality rate. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.
Results
The prevalence of patients developing HAI was 7.3% (53 of 723). Five types of nosocomial bacterial infections were tracked noting ventilator-associated pneumonia (41.26%), catheter-associated urinary tract infection (28.6%), hospital-acquired pneumonia (17.44%), catheter-related bloodstream infection (6.35%), and bloodstream infection (6.35%). Binary logistic analysis showed that HAI are statistically affected by four factors noting patients' age (
p
= 0.039), Length of Stay (
p
< 0.001), BIPAP (
p
= 0.019), and mechanical ventilation (
p
< 0.001). The risk of having HAI increases 3.930 times in case of mechanical ventilation, 2.366 times in case of BIPAP, 1.148 times when the LOS increases 1 day, and 1.029 times when the age is higher with 1 year.
Conclusion
Since the prevalence of HAI is high among severe and critical COVID-19 patients, it is important to prepare a treatment with diagnostic, preventative, and control measures for this infection.