[Risk factors for nosocomial infection in a level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit]

Nosocomial infections are a major and a frequent problem in neonatal intensive care units and increase morbidity, mortality, and costs. The objective of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with nosocomial infections in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Nested case control study. Records from patients were registered: gestational age, sex, birth weight, central venous catheter and other devices, congenital malformations, surgeries, mechanical ventilation, steroid use, H2 blockers, length of stay in neonatal intensive care unit, type of infection, and etiological agent.

We studied 188 cases with nosocomial infections and 192 controls without nosocomial infections. The most frequent infection was sepsis (34.8%) and coagulase negative Staphylococcus was the principal etiological agent (37.2%). The risk factors associated with nosocomial infection were central venous catheter (OR: 7.3; 95% CI: 2.3-22.8), duration of neonatal intensive care unit stay>14 days (OR: 3.4; 95% CI: 1.7-6.7), H2 blockers (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2-4.2), number of surgeries≥2 (OR: 3; 95% CI: 1.1-7.9) and mechanical ventilation>7 days (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.1-4.2).

Some risk factors associated to nosocomial infections in this study are similar to those found previously, with the exception of the number of surgeries that was not reported in previous studies.