Relationship between surgical antibiotic prophylaxis and nosocomial infection in intensive care units

Nosocomial infections (NIs) during ICU admission may cause morbidity, mortality and hospital readmissions. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors of nosocomial infections in ICUs with an emphasis on preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis.

A retrospective study of NIs was conducted in ICUs of a public hospital in Iran between October 2019 and May 2020. The overall rate of NI, distribution of the infection sites and responsible pathogen and the length of ICU stay as well as the risk factors of NIs were investigated.

The rate of NIs in patients receiving one preoperative antibiotic was much lower than that in patients receiving more than one antibiotics (p<0.001). Long-term pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis or use of broad spectrum surgical prophylaxis increased the risk of NIs in ICUs.

The results indicated that using of more than one antibiotic as preoperative prophylaxis is associated with higher risk of NIs. Moreover, administration of broad spectrum antibiotics as preoperative prophylaxis increase the risk of NIs in critically ill patients.