The Prevalence of Health Care-Associated Infections and Risk Factors in a University Hospital

The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of health care-associated infections, risk factors, and antimicrobial use.
Material and Methods. The study was carried out as a point-prevalence study in acute care wards, i.e., intensive care, surgical, and medical wards, at Vilnius University Hospital Santariškių Klinikos in April 2010. The study variables included the patient’s general data, indwelling devices, surgery, infection and its microbiological investigation, and antimicrobial use. All the variables that were logically related or had a P value of <0.25 in the univariate analysis were included in the stepwise logistic regression in order to study the factors potentially associated with health careassociated infections.
Results. A total of 731 patients were surveyed. The overall prevalence rate of health care-associated infections was 3.8%. The prevalence of health care-associated infections differed by hospital wards (range 0.0%–19.2%). The lower respiratory tract (32.2%), urinary tract (28.5%), and surgical site infections (32.1%) were the most common health care-associated infections. Moreover, 89.3% of the cases of health care-associated infections were microbiologically investigated. Staphylococcus aureus (28.6%) and Escherichia coli (19.1%) were the most frequently isolated microorganisms. The use of one or more invasive devices was recorded in 332 patients (45.4%). Of the surveyed patients, 20.2% received antimicrobial agents. The most commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents were fluoroquinolones (21.1%), broad-spectrum penicillins (19.1%), and first- or second-generation cephalosporins (18.6%).
Conclusions. The prevalence of health care-associated infections was found to be similar to the reported overall prevalence rate of health care-associated infections in acute care hospitals in Lithuania.