Iancu, D.; Moldovan, I.; Țilea, B.; Voidăzan, S. Evaluating Healthcare-Associated Infections in Public Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study. Antibiotics2023, 12, 1693.
Iancu, D.; Moldovan, I.; Țilea, B.; Voidăzan, S. Evaluating Healthcare-Associated Infections in Public Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study. Antibiotics 2023, 12, 1693.
Iancu, D.; Moldovan, I.; Țilea, B.; Voidăzan, S. Evaluating Healthcare-Associated Infections in Public Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study. Antibiotics2023, 12, 1693.
Iancu, D.; Moldovan, I.; Țilea, B.; Voidăzan, S. Evaluating Healthcare-Associated Infections in Public Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study. Antibiotics 2023, 12, 1693.
Abstract
Background: Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) pose a significant danger to global public health, mainly because their numbers are growing exponentially each year. Additionally, the rise of bacterial strains resistant to current treatment options further exacerbates this threat. The study aimed to examine the occurrences of HAIs identified in public hospitals at the county level. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study utilizing data provided to the Mures Public Health Directorate from all the public hospitals within this county. We examined HAIs reported during the period spanning from 2017 to 2021, which amounted to a total of 4603 cases. Results: The medical departments reported the highest prevalence of HAIs at 48.25%. The most common infections in-cluded enterocolitis with Clostridioides difficile (32.61%), COVID-19 (19.83%), bronchopneumonia (16.90%), sepsis, surgical wound infections, and urinary tract infections. The five most frequently identified pathogens were Clostridioides difficile (32.61%), SARS-CoV-2 (19.83%), Acinetobacter baumannii (11.82%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (9.58%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7.95%). Acinetobacter baumannii was the predominant agent causing bronchopneumonia, while Klebsiella pneumoniae was the leading cause of sepsis cases. Escherichia coli was the primary agent behind urinary tract infec-tions, and Staphylococcus aureus MRSA was identified as the main etiology for wound infections and central catheter infections. Throughout the study period, there was a significant rise in Clostridioides difficile cases, accounting for 40.36% of all reported HAIs in 2021. Conclusions: The study identifies Clostridioides difficile increase in HAI cases during COVID-19, highlighting the need for careful antibiotic use, and emphasizing the growing challenge of multi-resistant strains in post-pandemic state hospitals.
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
