ABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted patient and safety issues globally, with special reference to device-associated infection in critical care patients. Objective(s): To describe the incidence of device-associated infections, non-device-associated respiratory tract infections (RTIs), and antimicrobial use in critical COVID-19 patients during the first six months of the pandemic. Method(s): An observational study was conducted in an intensive care unit of a COVID-19-dedicated facility in Western Qatar from April 1 to September 30, 2020. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) were confirmed using the CDC definitions as per the corporate infection control program, except for other RTIs. Antimicrobial consumption was registered as days of therapy. Result(s): During the study period, 30 patients (10.9%) with HAIs were reported from 275 patients admitted. Patients with HAI had a higher median Charlson index, hospital stay, mortality, and APACHE II score on admission. The use of devices (central and peripheral lines, urinary catheters, and ventilators) was more frequent in patients with HAI. The RTI (16 cases) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) (10 cases) were the most frequent localizations. The infection rate for device-associated infections was 7.84, 3.23, and 2.75 per 1000 device days for VAP, central line-associated bloodstream infection, and catheter-associated urinary tract infection, respectively. 49 isolates related to HAI were identified, with 20 isolates being multidrug-resistant organisms (40.8%). A longer duration of antibiotic therapy was observed in HAI patients (34.1 days versus 9.39 days). Conclusion(s): The study provides evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on the incidence of device-associated infections in critically ill patients, antibiotics consumption, and antimicrobial resistance.Copyright © 2022 Garcell, Jimenez, de la Nuez Jimenez, Rivera, Abdi licensee HBKU Press.