Incidence of risk factors for bloodstream infections in patients with major burns receiving intensive care: A retrospective single-center cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The objective was primarily to identify risk factors for bloodstream infections (BSI) caused by different pathogens.

METHODS: A retrospective single-center cohort study was performed on 472 burn patients with an abbreviated burn severity index (ABSI)≥3, a total burn surface area (TBSA)≥10%, and an ICU stay of at least 24h. Risk factors for different BSI pathogens were analyzed by competing risks regression model of Fine and Gray.

RESULTS: A total of 114 burn patients developed 171 episodes of BSIs caused by gram-negative bacteria (n=78;46%), gram-positive bacteria (n=69;40%), and fungi (n=24;14%) median after 14days (range, 1-164), 16days (range, 1-170), and 16days (range, 0-89), respectively. A total of 24/114 patients (21%) had fatal outcomes. Isolation of the most common bloodstream isolates Enterococcus sp. (n=26), followed by Candida sp. and Pseudomonas sp. (n=22 for both) was significantly associated with increased TBSA (p≤0.006) and ABSI (p<0.0001) and need for fasciotomy (p<0.01). The death risk of patients with MDR gram-negative bacteremia was significantly increased by a hazard ratio of 12.6 (95% CI:4.8-32.8; p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: A greater TBSA and ABSI were associated with a significantly higher incidence of BSIs caused by Pseudomonas sp., Enterococcus sp. and Candida sp.