Objectives

To uncover clinical epidemiology, microbiological characteristics and outcome determinants of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSIs) in Turkish ICU patients.

Methods

The EUROBACT II was a prospective observational multicontinental cohort study. We performed a subanalysis of patients from 24 Turkish ICUs included in this study. Risk factors for mortality were identified using multivariable Cox frailty models.

Results

Of 547 patients, 58.7% were male with a median [IQR] age of 68 [55–78]. Most frequent sources of HA-BSIs were intravascular catheter [182, (33.3%)] and lower respiratory tract [175, (32.0%)]. Among isolated pathogens (n = 599), 67.1% were Gram-negative, 21.5% Gram-positive and 11.2% due to fungi. Carbapenem resistance was present in 90.4% of Acinetobacter spp., 53.1% of Klebsiella spp. and 48.8% of Pseudomonas spp. In monobacterial Gram-negative HA-BSIs (n = 329), SOFA score (aHR 1.20, 95% CI 1.14–1.27), carbapenem resistance (aHR 2.46, 95% CI 1.58–3.84), previous myocardial infarction (aHR 1.86, 95% CI 1.12–3.08), COVID-19 admission diagnosis (aHR 2.95, 95% CI 1.25–6.95) and not achieving source control (aHR 2.02, 95% CI 1.15–3.54) were associated with mortality. However, availability of clinical pharmacists (aHR 0.23, 95% CI 0.06–0.90) and source control (aHR 0.46, 95% CI 0.28–0.77) were associated with survival. In monobacterial Gram-positive HA-BSIs (n = 93), SOFA score (aHR 1.29, 95% CI 1.17–1.43) and age (aHR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03–1.08) were associated with mortality, whereas source control (aHR 0.41, 95% CI 0.20–0.87) was associated with survival.

Conclusions

Considering high antimicrobial resistance rate, importance of source control and availability of clinical pharmacists, a multifaceted management programme should be adopted in Turkish ICUs.