Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Pattern in the Intensive Care Units of a Governmental Hospital: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological data on Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP) are scarce inside Intensive Care Units (ICUs). AIM: This study aims to quantify the incidence of HAP, determine the predictors of HAP, calculate HAP-related mortality risk ratio as well as pinpoint the different risk factors contributing to mortality. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted at a governmental hospital's general ICUs over 12 months. We included adult patients admitted for at least 72 h before signs appear. We utilized a logistic regression model for fatality outcome and cox proportional hazard model for HAP outcome. RESULTS: Of 356 patients, 133 patients developed Ventilated-Acquired Pneumonia (VAP), 76 patients with Non-Ventilated HAP (NV-HAP), as well as 147 patients did not acquire HAP. The incidence of HAP was 28 cases of HAP per 1000 person-days, as well as the mortality rate was 74 per 100 days, while the Attributable Risk Percentage (ARP) was 85%. This high fatality rate was clarified by independent predictors as reintubation (odds ratio [OR] = 8.99, P < 0.001), ICU duration ≥5 days (OR = 7.29, P = 0.02), HAP outcome (OR = 6.49, P = 0.001), diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR = 2.98, P = 0.004), APACHE II ≥17 (OR = 2.76, P = 0.004), as well as neurological diseases (OR = 2.20, P = 0.03). The most common independent HAP predictors were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 2.27, P < 0.001), Klebsiella pneumoniae (HR = 1.81, P = 0.003), tracheostomy (HR = 1.72, P = 0.04), and APACHE II ≥17 (HR = 1.54, P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: High incidence rate of HAP was linked with P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, tracheostomy, and APACHE II ≥17. Furthermore, a high mortality rate was strongly correlated with reintubation, duration in ICU ≥5 days, HAP outcome, DM, APACHE II ≥17, and neurological diseases.