Background: Although healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose an extraordinary burden on public health, the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a matter of debate. Aim: To describe trends of HAIs in Italian intensive care units (ICUs) from 2006 to 2021, and to compare characteristics and outcomes of patients with or without COVID-19. Methods: We evaluated patients participating in the 'Italian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance in Intensive Care Units' (SPIN-UTI) project, who were admitted to ICUs for more than 48 h. Data regarding diagnosis, clinical conditions, therapies, treatments and outcomes of COVID-19 patients were also collected. Findings: From a total of 21,523 patients from 2006 to 2021, 3485 (16.2%) presented at least one HAI. We observed an increasing trend for both the incidence of patients with HAI and the incidence density of HAIs (P-trend <0.001). Compared with the pre-pandemic period, the incidence density of HAIs increased by about 15% in 2020-2021, with pneumoniae being the greatest contributors to this increase (P-trend <0.001). Moreover, incidence of HAIs was higher in ICUs dedicated to COVID-19 patients (P<0.001), who showed a greater risk of HAIs and death than patients without COVID-19 (P-values <0.001). Accordingly, the mortality in ICUs increased over the years and doubled during the pandemic (P-trend <0.001). Notably, co-infected patients had higher mortality (75.2%) than those with COVID-19 (66.2%) or HAI (39.9%) alone, and those without any infection (23.2%). Conclusions: Our analysis provides useful insight into whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced HAI incidence and death in Italian ICUs, highlighting the need for evaluation of the long-term effects of the pandemic. <(c)> 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Healthcare Infection Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
The intertwining of healthcare-associated infections and COVID-19 in Italian intensive care units: an analysis of the SPIN-UTI project from 2006 to 2021 / Barchitta, M., Maugeri, A., Favara, G., Lio, R.M.S., La Rosa, M.C., D'Ancona, F., Agodi, A., Murgia, P., Masia, M.D., Mura, I., Brusaferro, S., Arnoldo, L., Di Stefano, C., Lucchese, F., Lugano, M., Tardivo, S., Moretti, F., Bernasconi, M.O., Pappalardo, F., Pasquarella, C., et al.. - In: THE JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION. - ISSN 0195-6701. - 140:(2023), pp. 124-131. [10.1016/j.jhin.2023.07.021]
The intertwining of healthcare-associated infections and COVID-19 in Italian intensive care units: an analysis of the SPIN-UTI project from 2006 to 2021
Masia M. D.Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2023-01-01
Abstract
Background: Although healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose an extraordinary burden on public health, the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a matter of debate. Aim: To describe trends of HAIs in Italian intensive care units (ICUs) from 2006 to 2021, and to compare characteristics and outcomes of patients with or without COVID-19. Methods: We evaluated patients participating in the 'Italian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance in Intensive Care Units' (SPIN-UTI) project, who were admitted to ICUs for more than 48 h. Data regarding diagnosis, clinical conditions, therapies, treatments and outcomes of COVID-19 patients were also collected. Findings: From a total of 21,523 patients from 2006 to 2021, 3485 (16.2%) presented at least one HAI. We observed an increasing trend for both the incidence of patients with HAI and the incidence density of HAIs (P-trend <0.001). Compared with the pre-pandemic period, the incidence density of HAIs increased by about 15% in 2020-2021, with pneumoniae being the greatest contributors to this increase (P-trend <0.001). Moreover, incidence of HAIs was higher in ICUs dedicated to COVID-19 patients (P<0.001), who showed a greater risk of HAIs and death than patients without COVID-19 (P-values <0.001). Accordingly, the mortality in ICUs increased over the years and doubled during the pandemic (P-trend <0.001). Notably, co-infected patients had higher mortality (75.2%) than those with COVID-19 (66.2%) or HAI (39.9%) alone, and those without any infection (23.2%). Conclusions: Our analysis provides useful insight into whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced HAI incidence and death in Italian ICUs, highlighting the need for evaluation of the long-term effects of the pandemic. <(c)> 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Healthcare Infection Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
