Microbial Colonization of Patients Hospitalized in Intensive Care Unit: Incidence and Risk Factors

Introduction: Bacterial colonization of hospitalized patients in Intensive Care Units in synergy with the severity of the underlying disease and the weakening of the individual's defense mechanisms responsible for the adverse outcome of critically ill patients. One of the serious complications are infections of central venous lines which are responsible for increased mortality, morbidity and hospital costs. Aim: The investigation of risk’s factors who contribute to the colonization of central venous catheter in patients who have been hospitalized in the ICU. Methods: The sample of the study is consisted of a hundred and ten (110) people, which has been hospitalized in the ICU department of a Public Hospital of Athens and a private hospital of Athens. Data were collected by filling out a specific clinical protocol. Statistical analysis was performed with the statistical package SPSS-21 and the application of the statistical test x2-test. Results: 54.5% of the sample was male. 23.6% suffered from respiratory diseases, 45.5% came from surgical departments and 30.9% suffered from several other pathological causes. 100% of the sample had central venous catheter and 91.8% of them carried an extra peripheral catheter. The 90.9% of the sample colonized at least in one system. The most colonized systems were the respiratory and urinary with 86,4% and 62,7% correspondingly. The total colonization rate of central venous catheter amounted to 34.5%. The 6.4% of the sample were showed bacteremia associated with central venous catheter and 56.4% were showed bacteremia due to another goal. Women were found that colonized more often to the urinary system(p=0,002). People who were colonized more often, were people who had chronic renal failure, people who had many surgeries in the past, older people and individuals with dementia (p=0.006). The same groups showed frequent respiratory colonization, (p=0.031). Patients with colonization of the skin (p=0,007) and urinary system (p=0.049) had frequently experienced surgical events. People with tracheostomy and gastrostomy were most frequently colonized because of central venous catheter (p=0.001). Patients who had frequent complications were more often colonized from the skin (p=0.003), the urinary tract (p=0.011) and central venous catheter (p=0.026). Conclusion: The incidence of the comparison between the colonization of patients who had hospitalized in the ICU and had central venous catheter is related to gender, type of disease, existence of ostomy, surgery proceeding, time of hospitalization and other clinical parameters.