ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cerebrovascular diseases are associated with high incidence of health care-associated infections (HAIs) and poor prognosis in elderly patients. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical characteristics of HAIs in elderly patients with cerebrovascular disease in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: Patients admitted with cerebrovascular disease, aged ≥65 years, were included. The clinical data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed to determine the risk factors, infection type, distribution, and pathogenic characteristics of HAIs in the context of cerebrovascular diseases. RESULTS: Out of 381 ICU inpatients monitored, 79 (20.73%) developed HAIs. Risk analysis revealed number of ventilator days as significant risk factors for HAIs in elderly patients with cerebrovascular diseases in the comprehensive ICU. In the HAI group, 56 patients (70.89%) had respiratory tract infection (RTI). Sixty-five patients (82.28%) were infected with Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), and 42 (53.16%) with multi-drug-resistant organism (MDRO). The length of hospitalization days, ventilator days, and overall hospitalization costs were higher in the HAI group than in the non-HAI group (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between groups in the treatment outcome of patients. Patients with MDRO infection had longer duration and higher cost of hospitalization than those infected with non-MDRO (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the groups in the treatment outcome of patients. CONCLUSIONS: HAIs occurred mostly due to RTI and GNB infection. The hospitalization cost and duration, as well as the length of ventilator days, were higher for cerebrovascular patients with HAIs than for non-HAIs patients.
