[Epidemiology of nosocomial bacterial infection in a neonatal intensive care unit in Morocco]

Abstract

In neonatal intensive care units, the incidence of nosocomial infection is high. This study aimed to determine the epidemiology of a nosocomial bacterial infection in the neonatal intensive care unit of Mohamed VI university hospital. A total of 702 newborns were included in this study. Of the 702 neonates studied, 91 had developed a nosocomial infection. The incidence rate was 13% and incidence density was 21.2 per 1000 patient-days. The types of infection were: bloodstream infections (89%), pneumonia (6.6%), meningitis (3.3%), and urinary tract infections (1.1%). Nosocomial infection was particularly frequent in cases of low birth weight, prematurity, young age at admission, umbilical venous catheter, and mechanical ventilation. Multiresistant bacteria included enterobacteria producing betalactamase (76.9%), especially enterobacteria that were dominated by Klebsiella pneumoniae (39.7%). The mortality rate was 52.7% in nosocomial infections, 19 (20.87%) of whom had septic shock. The results of this study show that nosocomial infection is an intrahospital health problem that could be remedied by a prevention strategy.