• Supaletchimi Gopal Katherason, Lin Naing, Kamaruddin Jaalam, and Asma Ismail.
• Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia. supa0026@yahoo.co.uk
• J Infect Dev Ctries. 2008 Jan 1; 2 (5): 364-8.

BackgroundNosocomial infections (NIs) have a serious impact on patient outcomes in Intensive Care Units (ICUs).MethodA prospective cohort-targeted comprehensive surveillance study on NI associated with usage of devices was conducted in three ICUs in Malaysia using a developed NI surveillance form. Patients who developed infection outside an ICU were excluded from the study.ResultsThe device associated NI was 21.1%. The mean duration for development of NI was 10.0 +/- 7.44 days in ICU. The major device-associated infections were nosocomial pneumonia (18.7%) followed by bacteremia (8.5%) and urinary tract infections (4.7%) respectively. NI incidence density rate was 20.6 per 1,000 patient-days. Bacteremia, urinary tract infection (UTI) and nosocomial pneumonia (NP) rates were 8.9, 4.7 and 20.5 per 1,000 patient-days, respectively. Acinetobacter species, Klebseilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were the predominant pathogens isolated from the NIs subjects during the study period in the three ICUs.ConclusionAnalysis of the rate of the NIs associated with usage of devices in the three ICUs showed that it is highly correlated with the use of mechanical ventilation devices, followed by intravascular devices and usage of indwelling urinary catheters.

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