Introduction: Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAIs), including Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs) are significant global public health problems. This paper analyses a surveillance system dataset in order to describe the epidemiology of HAIs (MDROs and non-MDROs) in the intensive care unit (ICU), King Fahad Hofuf Hospital (KFHH), Saudi Arabia.
Methods: The three year period (2010 to 2012) of KFHH surveillance system data (both sporadic and outbreak) were analysed.
Results: There were 496 notifications of HAI cases, with 68.2% being MDROs and 31.8% non-MDROs. A total of 758 organisms were identified with 90% being Gram Negative Organisms (GNO). Of the GNOs, 51% were MDROs. Device-associated infections were detected in 48.9% of patients. The most common device-associated infections were ventilator-associated pneumonia, central line associated blood stream infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The most frequently isolated MDROs were Acinetobacter species at 57.4%, extended spectrum beta lactamase producing Klebsiella pneumonia at 13.2%, MRSA at 9.8%, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 6.5%.
Conclusion: HAIs cause a significant burden of disease at KFHH. The high prevalence of risk factors including pre-existing medical conditions, invasive procedures, and the long duration of hospital stays, are more prominent in ICU. This study highlights the changing trend of MDROs towards MDR gram negative organisms. High rates of multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii were prominent in the ICU
Keywords: ICU, Infection control, KFHH, MDROs, Saudi Arabia, Surveillance
