Trends in morbidity and mortality from bacterial infections in hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia

Morbidity and mortality from bacterial infections are significant components of the burden of disease in Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the trends in morbidity and mortality from bacterial infections in inpatient wards of five hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia from 2018 to 2022.

A cross-sectional study was conducted based on disease registries in health management information system (HMIS) from July 2017 to June 2022. Bacterial infections were extracted based on ESV ICD 11 in August 2022, descriptive statistics and trend analysis, and ANOVA was used to compare morbidity and mortality in hospitals with age and sex were computed using linear regression at a p value < 0.05.

There were 39,666 (20.1%) morbidities and 2763 (21.2%) mortalities due to bacterial infections. Morbidity from bacterial infections increased over time (R^² = 0.9916), while mortality declined (R² = 0.9494). Sepsis/septic shock (11,845 (29.9%) for morbidity and 1248 (45.2%) for mortality, and pulmonary tract infections 10,236 (25.8%) for morbidly) and 589 (21.3%) for mortality were the most common. The age of the patients was the sole risk factor for morbidity and mortality, where children < 1-year-old, 13,875 (35.0%) were at risk of admission due to bacterial infections compared 5-14 years old and > = 65 years old, with high mean difference (mean difference = 18.5 [95%CI: 14.35-22.66]) and (mean difference = 18.771 [95% CI: 14.3-23.2]), respectively; at risk of dying 912 (33.0%) compared with 5-14 years and 1-4 years (with mean difference = 3.0 [95%CI: 1.72-4.32]) and (mean difference = 2.97 [95%CI: 1.62-4.33]), respectively.

Bacterial infections remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitals, with morbidity on the rise and mortality rates declining. Sepsis and pneumonia were the leading causes of both morbidity and mortality. Age was identified as the only significant risk factor associated with these outcomes. These findings underscore the need for age-targeted interventions and enhanced infection prevention and control strategies to reduce the burden of bacterial infections in healthcare settings.