Background. The incidence of healthcare-associated respiratory tract infections in non-ventilated patients (NVA-HARTI) in neurosurgical intensive care units (ICU) is unknown. The impact of NVA-HARTI on patient outcomes and differences between NVA-HARTI and ventilator-associated healthcare-associated respiratory tract infections (VA-HARTI) are poorly understood. Our objectives were to report the incidence, hospital length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS, and mortality in neurosurgical ICU and compare these characteristics between NVA- and VA-HARTI.Methods. This prospective cohort study was conducted in a neurosurgical ICU in Moscow from 2011 to 2020. All patients with ICU LOS >48h were included. Time trends were analyzed for all outcomes. A competing risk model was used for survival and risk analysis.Results. A total of 3,937 ICU admissions were analyzed. NVA-HARTI vs VA-HARTI results were: cumulative incidence 7.2 (6.4-8.0) vs 15.4 (14.2-16.5) per 100 ICU admissions, incidence rate 4.2±2.0 vs 9.5±3.0 per 1000 patient-days in the ICU, median LOS 32 [21; 48.5] vs 46 [28; 76.5] days, median ICU LOS 15 [10; 28.75] vs 26 [17; 43] days, and mortality rates 12.3% (7.9-16.8) vs 16.7% (13.6-19.7). The incidence of VA-HARTI decreased in ten years while NVA-HARTI incidence did not change. VA-HARTI was found to be an independent risk factor of death, odds ratio 1.54 (1.11-2.14), p-value=0.009 while NVA-HARTI was not.Conclusion. Our findings suggest that NVA-HARTI in neurosurgical ICU patients represents a significant healthcare burden with relatively high incidence and associated poor outcomes. NVA-HARTI appeared to be different from VA-HARTI and persisted despite preventive measures; therefore, extrapolating VA-HARTI research findings to NVA-HARTI should be avoided.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.