Polytrauma patients with infections associated with health care admitted to an intensive care unit

Abstract

Background: in the treatment of traumatized patients, sepsis with subsequent multiple organ failure is the main non-neurological cause of death in those who survive the first 48 hours after trauma.Objective: to characterize polytrauma patients with infections associated with health care admitted to the intensive care unit of the “Ernesto Guevara de la Serna” General Teaching Hospital of Las Tunas, from July 2016 to July 2019.Methods: An cross-sectional, descriptive, observational study was carried with 80 of those patients admitted to the intensive care unit of the aforementioned hospital and during the period herein declared. The following variables were assessed: sex and age groups, main infections associated with health care, type of trauma, isolated microorganisms, complications and state at discharge. Descriptive statistics was used in the analysis of the data.Results: there was a prevalence of the male sex (87,5 %). The 26 to 35 age group was the most frequent one. Craniocerebral traumas (37,5 %) and abdominal traumas (32,5 %) were the most frequent forms of presentation. 58,8 % of the patients required mechanical ventilation. Concerning type of infection, there was a prevalence of pneumonia (42,5 %) and ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (21,3 %). Among the most frequent biological agents we found Acinetobacter spp (37,2 %) and Klebsiella pneumoniae spp (16,9 % %). Sepsis was the most frequent complication (28,8 %).Conclusions: the polytrauma patients with infections associated with health care included in the study were characterized.

Keywords

• multiple trauma
• sepsis
• multiple organ failure
• critical care