Device-Associated Nosocomial Infections in Intensive Care Units at Al-Ahsa Hospitals, Saudi Arabia

Introduction Patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU), especially those with devices used to support their condition, are at a higher risk of getting healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The aim of the present study was to analyze the surveillance data and assess the device-associated infection (DAI) rates such as central line-associated blood-stream infection (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and ventilator-associated event (VAE) in ICUs of the Ministry of Health (MoH) hospitals in Al-Ahsa region. Methodology The study was conducted retrospectively using the surveillance data of governmental hospitals' intensive care units in the Al-Ahsa region. The surveillance data was collected from 10 ICUs at six MoH hospitals in the Al-Ahsa region during the year 2022. The data from the participating hospitals was entered into the Health Electronic Surveillance Network (HESN) plus program by trained infection prevention control practitioners of the respective hospitals. Results An overall CLABSI rate of 4.29 per 1000 central line days was reported during the study period. The CAUTI rate was 0.55 with a range from 0 to 1.29 cases per 1000 urinary catheter days. VAP rate ranged from 0.33 to 2.21 cases per 1000 ventilator days (average of 1.17). The study reported VAE only for the adult medical-surgical ICU (3.36 per 1000 ventilator days). Conclusion The present study revealed that the most common DAIs in the Al-Ahsa region are CLABSI and CAUTI. DAI rates generated from this study may be used as benchmarks for regional hospitals. An educational program regarding the prevention and control of DAIs targeting all healthcare workers, especially ICU staff, has to be done in the Al-Ahsa region.