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Background/Aim. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) incidence, causative pathogens, and resistance patterns are different among countries and intensive care units (ICUs). In Europe, resistant organisms have progressively increased in the last decade. However, there is a lack of data from Serbian ICUs. The aims of this study were to evaluate etiology and antimicrobial resistance for pathogens causing VAP in ICU patients, to examine whether there were differences among pathogens in early-onset and late-onset VAP and to identify mortality in patients with VAP after 30 and 60 days of hospitalization. Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the respiratory ICU and all adult patients diagnosed with VAP from 2009 to 2014 were included. Results. Gram negative organisms were the major pathogens (80.3%). The most commonly isolated was Acinetobacter spp (59.8%). There was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae (8.9% vs 25.6%; p = 0.019). Extensively drug-resistant strains (XDR) were the most common (78.7%). Late-onset VAP was developed in 81.1% of patients without differences among pathogens in comparison with early-onset VAP. Acinetobacter spp was susceptible to tigecycline and colistin with a significant increase in resistance to ampicillin/sulbactam (30.2% vs 58.6%; p = 0.01). Resistance rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae to carbapenems was 38% and 11%, respectively. In methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus no resistance was observed against vancomycin and linezolid. There was no difference in mortality rate between patients with early-onset and late-onset VAP after 30 and 60 days of hospitalization. Conclusion. Gram negative organisms were the primary cause of bacterial VAP of which the most common was the XDR strain of Acinetobacter spp. Patients with early- and late-onset VAP had the same pathogens. There was no difference in mortality between this two group of patients during 60 days of hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacground/Aim. Nosocomial infections (NIs) are an important cause of morbidity, mortality and prolonged hospitalizations. Fifty percent of NIs have been reported in Intensive Care Units. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and type of NIs among critically ill patients treated in the University Hospital for Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Clinical Centre of Serbia, as well as risk factors for acquiring them. Methods. This prospective cohort study included 52 patients treated in the Intensive Care Unit from January to June 2004. The diagnosis of NI was established according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition, based on clinical presentation, radiological and microbiological findings, etc. Statistical data processing was done by using the electronic data base organized in SPSS for Windows version 10.0. The level of statistical significance was defined as p < 0. 05. Results. NIs were found in 33 (63.4%) of 52 inpatients. Urinary tract infections (UTIs), pneumonia, and soft tissue infections, the most common nosocomial infections in our setting, were recorded in 41.0%, 25.6%, and 23.1%, of patients, respectively. Several factors contributed to a high incidence of these infections: chronic comorbidities (p < 0.01), the presence of indwelling devices such as urinary tract catheters (p < 0.01), endotracheal tubes (p < 0.05) along with mechanical ventilation (p < 0.05). Conclusion. The majority of patients with NIs had chronic underlying comorbidities. All the patients with UTIs had urinary catheters. The most important risk factors for the development of nosocomial pneumonias were endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. The patients with pneumonia had the highest mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]