antibiotics in icu patients

BACKGROUND: The Global Point Prevalence Survey (Global-PPS) established an international network of hospitals to measure antimicrobial prescribing and resistance worldwide. We aimed to assess antimicrobial prescribing and resistance in hospital inpatients. METHODS: We used a standardised surveillance method to collect detailed data about antimicrobial prescribing and resistance from hospitals worldwide, which were grouped by UN region. The internet-based survey included all inpatients (adults, children, and neonates) receiving an antimicrobial who were on the ward at 0800 h on one specific day between January and September, 2015...

OBJECTIVES: Infections are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the early postoperative period after liver transplant. We observed a high rate of enterococcal infections at our center. Therefore, we added an intraoperative single shot of vancomycin to the standard regimen of meropenem given over 5 days. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of both Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis infections during the first 28 days after surgery depending on the type of antibiotic prophylaxis and their implications on mortality and morbidity...

BACKGROUND: We have surveyed the use of procalcitonin (PCT) in Finland with a specific emphasis on intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: The PCT use was surveyed from all 11 laboratories providing services for all 15 secondary and all five tertiary care hospitals in Finland. The laboratories reported the PCT use of each hospital in 2014 and 2015. Four hospitals were analysed for the first 100 adult ICU patients with PCT measurements in 2015. The indication for PCT measurement and whether PCT values affected antibiotic treatment were collected from patient records...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of a code sepsis (CS) activation, complying with recommendations, the evolution of patients with severe sepsis in the emergency room and determine independent factors associated to mortality. METHOD: All patients attending the emergency room with severe sepsis during a 6-month period were included. Complying with Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommendations, patients' average stay, intensive care admissions and 30-day mortality were assessed...

PURPOSE: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia has low pathogenicity potential, but if it causes bacteremia it can be fatal, because it has shown high resistance to many antibiotics and can be difficult to treat. Patient death from S. maltophilia bacteremia has increased since 2014 in our hospital. In this study, we investigated risk factors for death due to S. maltophilia bacteremia. METHODS: Seventy patients from the hospital database with S. maltophilia bacteremia between January 2010 and July 2017 were investigated...

Background: Vancomycin resistance in intensive care units (ICUs) accounts for significant morbidity and excess costs. The objective of the present study was to determine the appropriateness of vancomycin use in the various ICUs of Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Methods: This prospective study was performed on 95 critically ill patients (48 males and 47 females) who were treated with vancomycin for at least 3 subsequent doses in 6 ICUs during 12 months. Required demographic, clinical, and paraclinical data were collected by a pharmacist...

The clinical practice guidelines on nosocomial pneumonia recommends an empirical regimen that would work in 95% of the patients based on the local antibiogram. The aim of the study was development of an antibiogram for guiding empiric therapy in settings with high prevalence of multi-drug resistant organisms. A retrospective review of electronic health records (e-hospital portal) was done to analyze all respiratory isolates from patients admitted in medical wards and intensive care unit between May 2016 and May 2017...

BACKGROUND: A history of penicillin allergy is associated with an increased risk of nosocomial infections because patients are exposed to non-beta lactam antibiotics. Ruling out inaccurate penicillin allergy during hospitalization decreases prescription of beta lactam antibiotics. However, the utilization of penicillin allergy testing and timeliness in relation to initiation of antibiotics is not known. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to describe the proportion and characteristics of patients who underwent inpatient penicillin allergy testing in a hospital without a guideline or infrastructure for inpatient penicillin allergy testing...

INTRODUCTION: Nosocomial bloodstream infections (BSI) among patients in intensive care units (ICU) are the most common form of nosocomial infections and they are serious complications of the treatment process. The etiological factors of these infections and the proper antibiotic therapy can influence the effects of patient treatment. The aim of the study was to analyze the epidemiology, microbiology and antibiotic therapy of nosocomial BSI in Polish ICU patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The retrospective study covered patients hospitalized in seven ICUs for adults with a general profile, located in southern Poland...

Objectives: Acinetobacter baumannii is a causative pathogen of various healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and is particularly prevalent in high-risk hospital settings. This study aimed to determine risk factors associated with HAIs caused by carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: This prospective study was performed between January 2013 and June 2014 among NICU patients at the Mansoura University Children's Hospital, Mansoura, Egypt...

BACKGROUND: Patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are often among the most severely ill in the intensive care unit. They are often receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics; they have multiple entry points for pathogens; and their immune system is impaired by blood circuit interaction. These factors are thought to predispose them to fungal infections. We thus aimed to evaluate the prevalence, risk factors, and prognosis of fungal infections in adults on ECMO. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry, which compiles data on ECMO use from hundreds of international centers...

Gastrointestinal colonization by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), is a critical step before nosocomial infection. Our objective was to evaluate CRAB intestinal carriage in patients admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a Tunisian Hospital and to determine the antimicrobial resistance mechanisms involved. From December-2014 to February-2015, all 63 patients admitted at the ICU were screened for rectal CRAB-colonization upon admission and once weekly thereafter. ICU-patients who acquired a CRAB-nosocomial-infection were also included...

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of an antibiotic protocol guided by serum procalcitonin (PCT) with that of standard antibiotic therapy in severe acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPDs) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, randomized trial in France. Patients experiencing severe AECOPDs were assigned to groups whose antibiotic therapy was guided by (1) a 5-day PCT algorithm with predefined cutoff values for the initiation or stoppage of antibiotics (PCT group) or (2) standard guidelines (control group)...

Introduction: The extensive use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of multi-resistant strains in some species of the genus Acinetobacter . Objective: To investigate the molecular characteristics of multidrug-resistant of Acinetobacter ssp. strains isolated from 52 patients collected between March 2009 and July 2010 in medical intensive care units in Cali - Colombia. Methods: The susceptibility to various classes of antibiotics was determined by disc diffusion method, and the determination of the genomic species was carried out using amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and by sequencing of the 16s rDNA gene...

Introduction: Acute cholangitis (AC) is a clinical condition that requires prompt medical management with IV fluids, antibiotics, and biliary drainage (BD). The optimal timing for BD remains unclear. Aim: To investigate the effect of biliary drainage timing on clinical outcomes in AC. Material and methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients with AC admitted to the ICU using the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database...

BACKGROUND: The prevalence and mortality of sepsis are largely unknown in Turkey, a country with high antibiotic resistance. A national, multicenter, point-prevalence study was conducted to determine the prevalence, causative microorganisms, and outcome of sepsis in intensive care units (ICUs) in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 132 ICUs from 94 hospitals participated. All patients (aged > 18 years) present at the participating ICUs or admitted for any duration within a 24-h period (08:00 on January 27, 2016 to 08:00 on January 28, 2016) were included...

INTRODUCTION: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is frequent in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. In the specific case of patients treated with Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support (VA-ECMO), VAP treatment failures (VAP-TF) have been incompletely investigated. METHODS: To investigate the risk factors of treatment failure (VAP-TF) in a large cohort of ICU patients treated with VA-ECMO, we conducted a retrospective study in a Surgical ICU about patients assisted with VA-ECMO between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2014...

INTRODUCTION: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) present with variable severity. The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) developed an emergency general surgery (EGS) grading system for several diseases. We aimed to determine whether the AAST EGS grade corresponds with key clinical outcomes. METHODS: Single institution retrospective review of patients (≥18 years) admitted with SSTI during 2012-2016 was performed. Patients with surgical site infections or <18 years were excluded...

Background: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in patients requiring coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is noticeably high (20%-30%). These patients have inferior perioperative outcome, reduced long-term survival, and high risk of recurrent episodes of angina. To improve perioperative outcome surgical unit defined satisfactory glycemic control is desired during this period. Hence, the aim of our study is to compare the efficacy of glargine insulin combination with continuous human insulin infusion for perioperative glycemic control in patients with diabetes undergoing CABG...

The combination of piperacillin-tazobactam (pip-tazo) and vancomycin provides a wide spectrum of activity against many pathogens acquired in the health-care setting. However, there have been reports of increased potential for nephrotoxicity with this combination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nephrotoxic effect of pip-tazo plus vancomycin and compare it with that of pip-tazo and vancomycin alone, and meropenem plus vancomycin, another broad-spectrum combination. A total of 402 patients receiving either antimicrobial regimen for more than 48 hours were evaluated retrospectively in a two-year period...