Abstract Background Hospital-acquired infection (HAI) is a serious complication of neurosurgery. In recent years, the medical body has paid increasing attention to this issue. Aim We investigated the status of HAIs in patients who had undergone surgery for intracranial aneurysms and analysed their risk factors. Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out on the medical records of 542 patients with intracranial aneurysms after they were admitted for neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University between January and December 2016. Cases studied were divided into an infection group and a control group. Logistic regression analysis of the data was carried out. Findings Of the 542 patients with intracranial aneurysms who underwent surgery, 77 HAIs occurred in 64 patients, with an infection prevalence of 11.8% and prevalence of infection cases of 14.2%. Logistic regression showed that an admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of less than 8 points (odds ratio = 4.261, 95% confidence interval 1.102–16.476), hyperglycaemia (2.759, 1.159–6.564), hypothermia treatment (6.557, 2.244–19.159), and central venous catheterisation (CVC) (8.853, 2.860–27.398) were independent risk factors for HAIs in patients with intracranial aneurysm who underwent surgery. Conclusion Being comatose upon hospital admission, having hyperglycaemia or hypothermia, and indwelling CVC are major risk factors for HAIs in patients undergoing surgery for intracranial aneurysms.
