Background: Infections are one of the commonest causes of mortality in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), with a mortality of up to 50%, depending on the origin of the infection. At our study death rate was 35.8% and survival was 64.2%. Objective: This study aimed to identify the most common bacterial infections in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Zagazig University and to describe their epidemiologic and microbiologic characteristics, and determine other risk factors for developing bacteremia.
Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of 6 months from June 2017 to November 2017; it included 240 pediatric patients admitted at Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University Hospitals.
Results: Prolonged hospital stay, urinary catheter (UC) non-significantly increased risk of infection. On the other hand, central venous catheter (CVC), mechanical ventilation (MV) significantly increased risk of infection. There was statistically non-significant relation between outcome and type of organism.
Conclusion: MV and UC were significantly associated with healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Patients with HAIs had significantly longer length of stay (LOS).