Surveillance of Healthcare Associated Infection in the Adult Hematology Unit

Patients with hematological malignancies are at risk for Healthcare Associated Infection (HAIs) due to malignancy types, antineoplastic chemotherapies, immunosuppressant treatment, and prolonged hospital day. HAIs cause delay in cancer treatment, increase morbidity or mortality and increase costs of treatment affecting successful outcomes of cancer care. We describe the outcome of the surveillance in adult hematology patients in our hospital and identified groups most at risk for HAIs. We describe the outcome of the surveillance study in adult hematology patients in Morocco. Methods: A prospective surveillance study included all patients admitted to the adult hematology unit from March 2011 to August 2011. They excluded patients from the transplant unit and day hospital. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention standard definitions were used to determine if an infection was hospital acquired. We collected data in demographics, risk factors, the presence or absence of HAIs and its type. Results: A total of 180 patients that represented 377 admissions, with 4438 hospitalization-days, were included in the study. They have a mean age of 35 years (18–78 years). The sex-ratio H/F was 1.7. The distribution of the patient's diagnosis is related in Table1. 63 patients had 110 episodes of HAIs. The incidence rate of HAIs was 24.74/1000 hospitalization-days. The most frequent of infectious episodes were bacteremia (38.18%) and pneumonia (24.54%). The fever of unknown origin represented 35.45%.The distribution of the intrinsic risk factors with regard to episodes of HAIs was the following: 83.48% presented with neutropenia, 59.79% presented with severe neutropenia. With regard to extrinsic risk factors for HAIs, 61.03% of the infectious episodes had central venous catheterization. The mortality rate due to HAIs was 8%. Conclusion: Although the overall HAI rate is in line with published reports in hematology units, our mortality rate is higher. This finding suggests that we must be more aggressive to prevent infections in the patients in these units. Table I: Distribution of patient's diagnosis and incidence rate of HAIs Infection Incidence rate (/1000 hospital day) N n % Age (years) 18–40 41–60 > 60 Hematologic neoplasia 245 97 35 70 31 9 28,57 31,96 25,71 Acute myeloid leukemia 147 98 89,00 35,27 Acute lymphoblastic leukemia 83 5 4,54 Non Hodgkin's lymphoma 102 5 4,54 Hodgkin's disease 36 0 Aplastic anemia 3 2 Others 6 0 Total 377 110 100

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.