Scholarlink

Background <p>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, rapidly evolved into a global pandemic with substantial morbidity and mortality. Severe COVID-19 cases, particularly those with pneumonia requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission, posed significant challenges for healthcare systems. This study aimed to evaluate and compare healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) developing in the ICU during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods.</p> Methods <p>This retrospective observational study was conducted at Sakarya Yenikent State Hospital, a secondary-care hospital with 50 ICU beds. Active surveillance data collected by the infection control team were analyzed for two periods: pre-pandemic (May 2018–February 2020) and pandemic (March 2020–December 2021). The number of ICU patients, patient-days, HAI rates, causative microorganisms, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and mortality rates were compared between periods. Statistical analyses were performed using Epi Info™ version 7.2.5.0, with <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05 considered statistically significant.</p> Results <p>A total of 1,840 patients (16,572 patient-days) in the pre-pandemic period and 2,119 patients (12,460 patient-days) in the pandemic period were followed. Mortality significantly increased during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period (40.96% vs. 24.94%, <i>p</i> = 0.00001). Although the overall HAI rate did not differ significantly between periods (3.26% vs. 2.73%, <i>p</i> = 0.333), Although the overall HAI rate did not differ significantly between periods (3.26% vs. 2.73%, <i>p</i> = 0.333), HAI density was higher during the pandemic. Notably, <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i>-related HAIs increased significantly during the pandemic period (58.89% vs. 35.00%, <i>p</i> = 0.016), while distributions of other pathogens remained similar. Antimicrobial resistance patterns were more pronounced during the pandemic period.</p> Conclusion <p>Despite similar HAIs rates, in-hospital mortality increased during the pandemic. This was accompanied by higher disease severity, reflected by increased cardiopulmonary resuscitation rates, and a shift toward <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> infections. Although mortality was high among COVID-19-positive patients, COVID-19 status was not an independent predictor. Overall, worse outcomes during the pandemic were associated with increased disease severity and pathogen distribution rather than changes in HAI incidence.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Increased mortality and Acinetobacter baumannii predominance despite stable healthcare-associated infection rates during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月15日

查看全文
  • Gülsüm Kaya,
  • Pınar Özkan Oskay,
  • Nesrin Kebapçı Mert,
  • Şeyma Trabzon,
  • Sebahat Aksaray,
  • Zeynep Ergenç,
  • Hasan Ergenç,
  • Cengiz Karacaer

摘要

Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, rapidly evolved into a global pandemic with substantial morbidity and mortality. Severe COVID-19 cases, particularly those with pneumonia requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission, posed significant challenges for healthcare systems. This study aimed to evaluate and compare healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) developing in the ICU during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods.

Methods

This retrospective observational study was conducted at Sakarya Yenikent State Hospital, a secondary-care hospital with 50 ICU beds. Active surveillance data collected by the infection control team were analyzed for two periods: pre-pandemic (May 2018–February 2020) and pandemic (March 2020–December 2021). The number of ICU patients, patient-days, HAI rates, causative microorganisms, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and mortality rates were compared between periods. Statistical analyses were performed using Epi Info™ version 7.2.5.0, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results

A total of 1,840 patients (16,572 patient-days) in the pre-pandemic period and 2,119 patients (12,460 patient-days) in the pandemic period were followed. Mortality significantly increased during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period (40.96% vs. 24.94%, p = 0.00001). Although the overall HAI rate did not differ significantly between periods (3.26% vs. 2.73%, p = 0.333), Although the overall HAI rate did not differ significantly between periods (3.26% vs. 2.73%, p = 0.333), HAI density was higher during the pandemic. Notably, Acinetobacter baumannii-related HAIs increased significantly during the pandemic period (58.89% vs. 35.00%, p = 0.016), while distributions of other pathogens remained similar. Antimicrobial resistance patterns were more pronounced during the pandemic period.

Conclusion

Despite similar HAIs rates, in-hospital mortality increased during the pandemic. This was accompanied by higher disease severity, reflected by increased cardiopulmonary resuscitation rates, and a shift toward Acinetobacter baumannii infections. Although mortality was high among COVID-19-positive patients, COVID-19 status was not an independent predictor. Overall, worse outcomes during the pandemic were associated with increased disease severity and pathogen distribution rather than changes in HAI incidence.

Clinical trial number

Not applicable.