Patients with nosocomial infections have longer length of stay, increased mortality risk
MONDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) -- People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who acquire a nosocomial infection have a significantly higher risk of mortality and increased length of stay (LOS) in the hospital, according to research published in the November issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Raffi Karagozian, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues analyzed the outcomes of 2,324 IBD patients discharged from acute care hospitals in Pennsylvania in 2004. The researchers compared the outcomes of IBD patients who suffered hospital acquired infections (HAIs) -- urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and multiple site infections -- to those who did not.
The researchers found that 0.91 percent of IBD patients suffered HAIs; urinary tract infection was the most common HAI; 15 percent of IBD patients who died had an HAI; and IBD patients who were older and more ill were at higher risk of adverse outcomes from HAIs. The mortality from HAI in patients with IBD was 13.6 percent; it was 0.9 percent in controls. The study also revealed that the median LOS for HAI patients was 22 days versus six days for those without an infection.
"Although previous studies have well demonstrated the overall adverse outcomes of HAIs in overall mortality and hospital LOS across various diseases, our study further underscores the fact that HAI also affects disease-specific variations in mortality," the authors write.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)