Nosocomial infection in a pediatric intensive care unit in a developing country.

Objective: Determine the rate and outcome of nosocomial infection (NI) in pediatric intensive care unit patients in a developing country.

Design: Prospective cohort study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions to diagnose nosocomial infection and NNISS (National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System) methodology.

Setting: São Paulo Hospital - Universidade Federal de São Paulo - Brazil, a 700-bed teaching hospital with an 8-bed pediatric intensive care unit.

Participants: All 515 children consecutively admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit from April 1996 to October 1997.

Results: The NI incidence was 18.3% and the mean infection rate per 1,000 patient days was 46.1; the ventilator-associated pneumonia rate was 18.7 per 1,000 ventilator days; the central line-associated bloodstream infection rate was 10.2 per 1,000 central line days; and the urinary tract catheter-associated infection rate was 1.8 per 1,000 catheter days. Pneumonia was the most common NI (31.6%), followed by bloodstream infections (17.3%), and surgical site infection (17.3%). Gram-negative bacterias were the most common pathogens identified in the NIs (54.8%), followed by Gram-positive bacterias (23.8%), and yeasts.

Conclusion: Pneumonia was the most common type of NI. A high incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and central line-associated bloodstream infections was found, whereas the urinary tract catheter-associated infection rate was low. Gram-negative bacterias were the most common etiologic agents identified in the unit, and yeasts were frequently found. Pediatric patients have characteristics of their own, with major differences when compared to the adult population.