Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Levels of Device-Associated Infections and Hand Hygiene Compliance

Background Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have been a major issue in intensive care units (ICUs), contributing to increased morbidity and mortality. They affect patients during the delivery of health care in hospitals where such infections were not present at the time of admission. Meanwhile, the course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may necessitate the transfer of critically ill patients to ICUs. Patients who need ICU services due to COVID-19 share similar underlying comorbidities, making them prone to microbiological infection. We aim to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 emergence period on device-associated infections (DAIs), the compliance of healthcare workers with hand hygiene, and other prevention bundles in ICU. Materials and methods This retrospective observational study analyzes secondary data from the infection control department in a single 500-bed hospital, including 80 adult ICU beds. DAI data from 2019, the pre-COVID-19 period, were compared to DAI data during the pandemic in 2020. In addition, prevention bundles and hand hygiene (HH) compliances for the same periods (before and after the COVID-19 pandemic) were compared. Results No significant impact was statistically detected in monthly and yearly comparisons of DAIs between 2019 and 2020. Similarly, HH compliance analysis revealed no significant difference between the two periods (p-value > 0.05). However, the data distribution for HH compliance displays a narrower range of measures. Nevertheless, only compliance with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention bundle of 2020 notably improved in comparison to 2019. Conclusion The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was not evident over the DAIs. However, the compliance of healthcare workers to prevention bundles and HH in ICU was improved. Strict following and adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) measures generally reduce the event of DAIs even on a non-significant scale.