STUDY OBJECTIVE To study sequences of colonization of different species of microorganisms and to determine the importance of gastric colonization for the development of nosocomial pneumonia. DESIGN A prospective study. SETTING Two identical ICUs of a university hospital. PATIENTS Sixty-four patients admitted to ICU for at least 5 days; 59 were intubated. INTERVENTIONS Microbiologic cult...

BACKGROUND Nosocomial infections are an important public health problem in many developing countries, particularly in the intensive care unit (ICU). Limited data exists on the incidence and burden of nosocomial infection in the ICU in Argentina. METHODS We performed baseline prospective nosocomial infection surveillance of all patients for 6 months in 3 medical-surgical ICUs (MS-ICUs) in Arge...

BACKGROUND In 2005, pneumonia practice guidelines recommended broad-spectrum antibiotics for patients with risk factors for nosocomial pathogens. The impact of these recommendations on the ability of providers to match treatment with nosocomial pathogens is unknown. METHODS Among hospitalizations with a principal diagnosis of pneumonia at 128 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers fro...

INTRODUCTION We compared the economic impacts of linezolid and vancomycin for the treatment of hospitalized patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-confirmed nosocomial pneumonia. METHODS We used a 4-week decision tree model incorporating published data and expert opinion on clinical parameters, resource use and costs (in 2012 US dollars), such as efficacy, mortality,...

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a common nosocomial infection that results in both negative patient outcomes and increased health care costs. Recently, many efforts have been targeted at ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention, including the practice of subglottic secretion aspiration. Six randomized control studies examining the effectiveness of subglottic secretion aspiration in the pre...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to describe the incidence and epidemiology of nosocomial infection in newborns who were admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit in a hospital in south Santa Catarina, Brazil. METHODS A prospective cohort study was conducted for 1 year among 239 neonates who remained as in-patients 48 hours after admission. The criteria that were used to diagnose infectio...

OBJECTIVES Sepsis is the main cause of death in the intensive care unit. New preventive measures for nosocomial infections have been researched, such as pre, pro and symbiotic usage, due to its immunoregulatory properties. The objective was to evaluate the effect of administration of pre, pro and symbiotic on gastrointestinal and inferior airway colonization and on nosocomial infections, partic...

In immunocompetent patients with community acquired pneumonia, as well as in the immunocompetent host with nosocomial pneumonia, a calculated therapy can be initiated without prior invasive diagnostic procedure. This kind of patient management, however, is not warranted in immunocompromised or immunodeficient patients, in whom an exact diagnosis and the identification of the organism causing pn...

Nosocomial infections are one of the most important problems occurring in Intensive Care Units. For this reason, the epidemiology and impact of these infections on critical patients must be known. Based on the data from the ENVIN-UCI study, the rates and etiology of the main nosocomial infections, such as ventilator-associated pneumonia, urinary tract infection and primary and secondary bloodst...