Abstract:
Objective To analyze and summarize the characteristics of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections experienced by chronic severe hepatitis B patients in order to strengthen prevention and control strategies.Methods Chronic severe hepatitis B patients treated in our hospital from January 2008 to October 2011 were retrospectively enrolled in the study.Cases of nosocomial infections were statistically analyzed by the Chi-squared test.Results Of the 162 patients with chronic severe hepatitis B, only 35 experienced nosocomial infections, yielding an infection rate of 21.6%.The most common infection sites were the abdominal cavity (41.86%) , the respiratory system (23.26%) , and the intestine (16.28%) .Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most commonly detected pathogens (29.63% and 18.52% of cases, respectively) .The rates of nosocomial infections were highest between days 15 to 30 of the hospital stay, accounting for 72.1%.The overall invalid rate and rate of death (expressed as a summed rate of ineffectivity) was significantly higher in the nosocomial infection group than in the non-nosocomial group (20.0% vs 7.1%, respectively;P<0.05) .Conclusion The rate of nosocomial infections in chronic severe hepatitis B patients is high.Patients with chronic severe hepatitis B should be treated to resolve the primary disease, so as to improve liver function and general health;however, strict compliance with disinfection and hygeinic practices, as well as possible patient isolation, may decrease the incidence rate of nosocomial infections and improve survival in this patient population.