A two-year study of microbiological characteristics of intravascular catheter-related bloodstream infections at Razi hospital, Iran

• Published in: New Zealand journal of medical laboratory science Vol. 75; no. 3; pp. 202 - 205
• Main Authors: Hasannejad-Bibalan, Meysam, Sadeghi, Mahsa, Hemmati, Hossein, Ashoobi, Mohammad Taghi, Yaghoubi, Tofigh, Samadnia, Alireza, Soofi, Maziyar Bamdad, Ebrahim-Saraie, Hadi Sedigh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science 01.11.2021
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Bacterial growth; Bacterial infections; Care; Catheterization; Complications; Drug resistance; Drug resistance in microorganisms; Health aspects; Infection; Iran; Methicillin; Microbiology; Mortality; Nosocomial infections; Patients; Resorts; Staphylococcus aureus infections; Staphylococcus infections; Synthesis; Tetracycline; Tetracyclines; Treatment; Urinary tract infections; Iran
• ISSN: 1171-0195

Objectives: A substantial proportion of healthcare-associated infections are typically associated with devices such as indwelling intravascular devices (arterial and venous catheters), resulting in increased long-term hospitalisation, cost, morbidity, and mortality. This study aimed to determine the microbiological characteristics of bloodstream infection caused by intravascular device catheters in the north of Iran. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted between 2018 and 2019 on inpatients with catheter-related bloodstream infections. Bacterial isolation and identification were carried out using standard microbiological and biochemical techniques. The disc diffusion method was used to determine antimicrobial susceptibility. Results: Out of 287 examined catheters, 95 (33.1%) cases were positive for significant bacterial growth. Catheter-related bloodstream infections were most frequently caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci (28.4%), Staphylococcus aureus (15.8%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.7%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.6%). According to antibiotic susceptibility testing, the most effective antibiotics against staphylococci were amikacin, co-trimoxazole, and tetracycline. Meanwhile, 33.3% of S. aureus isolates and 56% of coagulase-negative staphylococci were methicillin-resistant. Gram-negative isolates showed a very high rate of antibiotic resistance, even toward the last resorts antibiotics such as carbapenems. Conclusions: Our study revealed an alarming rate of catheter-associated infection, necessitating implementing a more stringent and effective infection control policy. Additionally, our observations provide critical data for making more targeted empirical antibiotic selections based on the local antibiotic susceptibility pattern.