Study design: A retrospective observational study.
Objective: To identify the difference between patients with and without healthcare-associated infection (HAI) after spinal cord injury (SCI), changes in the quantity of rehabilitation after HAI, and resistance to and application of empirical antibiotics.
Setting: University hospital-affiliated rehabilitation center.
Methods: Altogether, 338 patients with SCI receiving inpatient rehabilitation from January 2015 to March 2018 were categorized into two groups based on the presence or absence of HAI. Demographic and clinical characteristics, amount of rehabilitation performance between before and after HAI, resistance to antibiotics, and empirical antibiotic change rates were investigated.
Results: In 79 patients, 117 HAI cases occurred, with an overall incidence of 34.6%. Male sex, complete SCI, and trauma history were more frequent in the HAI group than in the non-HAI group. Length of stay (LOS) was longer at 28.9 days in the HAI group. The incidence of lower respiratory tract infections (LRIs) and urinary tract infections (UTIs) was 5.0 and 16.9%, respectively. The rehabilitation loss rates due to LRIs and UTIs were 40.0 and 20.2%, respectively, which were not statistically significant. The rates of resistance to recommended empirical antibiotics for LRIs and UTIs were 26.9-57.7% and 54.2-67.8%, respectively. The rates of empirical antibiotic changes for LRIs and UTIs were 35.3 and 43.9%, respectively.
Conclusions: HAI after SCI was more common in men, complete SCI and trauma history. LOS was prolonged in the HAI group. A quantitative reduction of rehabilitation treatment after HAI was observed, but further research is needed for validation.