Background: In this study, we wanted to study the incidence, risk factors and clinical and bacteriological pattern of nosocomial infections in PICU.

Methods: This study was conducted in the PICU of 900 bedded Tertiary hospital. 74 suspected cases of nosocomial infections were studied prospectively, identified as per the guidelines laid down by CDC.

Results: The incidence of nosocomial infections was 29% (N=255). Bloodstream infections were the most commonly observed in the present study (43.24%, 32/74) followed by Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (32.43%, 24/74), Nosocomial pneumonia (16.21%, 12/74), and SSI (8.1%, 6/74). There were two patients with more than one nosocomial infections. The average duration of stay in children with NI the overall length of stay was 589 days with an average of 7.95 days compared to 4.63 days in children without NI.

Conclusions: The risk of nosocomial infection was directly related to the duration of stay in the PICU and the duration of placement of indwelling catheters /tubes. Age and sex were the important independent risk factors for causing nosocomial infections as the incidence was more in the 2 months age group. BSI occurred more commonly in males while UTI in females. Other risk factors like malnutrition, immuno-compromised status and underlying illness were also associated with nosocomial infections. The most common organism was E. coli (sensitive to amikacin) followed by klebsiella and maximum sensitivity to piperacillin-tazobactam. Length of stay in PICU more in children with NI. There was no significance in mortality between both groups.

Abbreviations: NI- Nosocomial infections. PICU- Pediatric intensive care unit. UTI- Urinary tract infections.