Studies on Devices- related pathogens in intensive care Units

>Nosocomial infections occur worldwide and affect both developed and resource-poor countries. Infections acquired in health care settings are among the major causes of death and increased morbidity among hospitalized patients. Nosocomial infections are most frequent in ICUs (rates of infection in the ICU are 3–5 times higher than rates in other hospital wards) because of invasive procedures such as ventilation, tracheostomy and catheterization, and common usage of broad-spectrum antibiotics leading to development of resistant pathogensThe present study aimed to determine the frequency of device related nosocomial infection and the most common pathogens associated with indwelling medical devices. A total number of 194 specimens were collected from different indwelling medical devices (urinary catheter, ventilator tubes and tracheostomy tubes) in intensive care units at Zagazig University Hospitals, Zagazig, Egypt over the period from December 2005 to December 2006. One hundred and ninety seven isolates were obtained from these specimens. The isolates were identified as follows: 50 as Staphylococcus aureus (25.4%), 37 as Enterobacter spp (18.78%), 27 as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13.7%), 27 as Candida spp (13.7%), 24 as Corynebacterium spp (12.18%), 21 as Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (10.65%), 6 as Escherchia coli (3%) and 5 as Proteus spp (2.5%) Detection of methicillin resistance among Staphylococcal isolates by standardized disc diffusion method using oxacillin discs was done and the results revealed the percentage of methicillin resistance among S. aureus isolates was higher than that among CoNS isolates (73.3% and 60%). kk)kj)respectively).