Objective: Determine the rate and outcome of nosocomial infection (NI) in pediatric intensive care unit patients in a developing country. Design: Prospective cohort study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions to diagnose nosocomial infection and NNISS (National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System) methodology. Setting: São Paulo HospitalUniversidade Federal de São Paulo -Brazil, a 700-bed teaching hospital with an 8-bed pediatric intensive care unit. Participants: All 515 children consecutively admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit from April 1996 to October 1997. Results: The NI incidence was 18.3% and the mean infection rate per 1,000 patient days was 46.1; the ventilator-associated pneumonia rate was 18.7 per 1,000 ventilator days; the central line-associated bloodstream infection rate was 10.2 per 1,000 central line days; and the urinary tract catheter-associated infection rate was 1.8 per 1,000 catheter days. Pneumonia was the most common NI (31.6%), followed by bloodstream infections (17.3%), and surgical site infection (17.3%). Gram-negative bacterias were the most common pathogens identified in the NIs (54.8%), followed by Gram-positive bacterias (23.8%), and yeasts. Conclusion: Pneumonia was the most common type of NI. A high incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and central line-associated bloodstream infections was found, whereas the urinary tract catheter-associated infection rate was low. Gram-negative bacterias were the most common etiologic agents identified in the unit, and yeasts were frequently found. Pediatric patients have characteristics of their own, with major differences when compared to the adult population.

Objectives:To determine the impact of an educational program on the prevention of central venous catheter-related infections in a Brazilian Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Patients and Methods: All patients admitted to the unit between February 2004 and May 2005 were included in the cohort study in a longitudinal assessment. An educational program was developed based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for prevention of catheter-associated infections and was adapted to local conditions and resources after an initial observational phase. Incidence of catheter-associated infections was measured by means of on-site surveillance. Results: One hundred eighteen nosocomial infections occurred in 253 patients (46.6 infections per 100 admissions) and in 2,954 patient-days (39.9 infections per 1,000 patient-days). The incidence-density of catheter infections was 31.1 episodes per 1.000 venous central catheter-days before interventions, and 16.5 episodes per 1,000 venous central catheter-days afterwards (relative risk 0.53 [95% CI 0.28-1.01]). Corresponding rates for exit-site catheter infections were 8.0 and 2.5 episodes per 1,000 venous central catheter-days [0.32 (0.07-1.49)], and the rates for bloodstream infections were 23.1 and 13.9 episodes per 1,000 venous central catheter-days, before and after interventions [0.61 (0.32-1.14)]. Conclusion: A prevention strategy targeted at the insertion and maintenance of vascular access can decrease rates of vascular-access infections in pediatric intensive care unit.

No abstract

In 2009, the influenza A (H1N1) virus spread rapidly around the world, causing the first pandemic of the 21st Century. In 2010, there was a vaccination campaign against this new virus subtype to reduce the morbidity and mortality of the disease in some countries, including Brazil. Herein, we describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients under 19 years of age who were hospitalized with confirmed influenza A (H1N1) infection in 2009 and 2010. We retrospectively reviewed files from the pediatric patients who were admitted to a university hospital with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed influenza A (H1N1) infection in 2009 and 2010. There were 37 hospitalized patients with influenza A (H1N1) in 2009 and 2 in 2010. In 2009, many of the hospitalized children had an underlying chronic disease and a lower median age than those not hospitalized. Of the hospitalized patients, 78% had a chronic disease, primarily pneumopathy (48%). The main signs and symptoms of influenza were fever (97%), cough (76%), and dyspnea (59%). Complications occurred in 81% of the patients. The median length of hospitalization was five days; 27% of the patients required intensive care, and two died. In 2010, two patients were hospitalized with influenza A (H1N1): one infant with adenovirus co-infection who had received one previous H1N1 vaccine dose and presented with respiratory sequelae and a 2-month-old infant who had a hospital-acquired infection. An impressive reduction in hospital admissions was observed in 2010 when the vaccination campaign took place in Brazil.

Objetivo: Analisar a prevalência de infecção hospitalar primária da corrente sanguínea em uma Unidade de terapia intensiva Neonatal. Métodos: Estudo retrospectivo, com análise de prontuários de uma Unidade de terapia intensiva Neonatal, no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2010. Foi calculada a densidade de incidência de infecção de corrente sanguínea associada ao cateter por 1000 cateteres-dia. Resultados: Dos 192 recém-nascidos, 16 (8,3%) apresentaram infecção da corrente sanguínea e todos estes utilizaram o cateter central de inserção periférica. A densidade de infecção confirmada por hemocultura foi de 5,9 e a baseada em critérios clínicos foi de 3,5 por 1000 pacientes com cateter vascular central-dia. A distribuição por faixa de peso foi de: 30,9 (750-999g); 11 (1000-1499g); 8,5 (1500-2499g) e 6,8 (> 2500g) por 1000 pacientes com cateter vascular dia. A média do tempo de uso do cateter foi de 11 dias. o sítio de inserção mais comum foi o acesso jugular (37,5%) e a mortalidade associada à infecção da corrente sanguínea foi de 31%. Conclusões: A utilização do cateter central de inserção periférica é uma prática não isenta de riscos, considerando que este é um dispositivo invasivo e pode predispor à ocorrência de infecção.