Evaluation of Sepsis and Extensively Drug Resistant Infections in Deceased Critically Ill Patients

Objective: Sepsis due to the drug resistant infections is associated with the higher mortality rates in an intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of this study was to determine the demographic characteristics of the deceased critically ill patients, prevalence of the sepsis, and extensively drug resistant infectious-related (XDR) deaths within a year in the ICU. Materials and Methods: The data of patients who died in the ICU between January 1, 2019 and 2020 was retrospectively analyzed. Results: Out of 525 patients admitted to the ICU, 269 of them died. One hundred fifty-one of those deceased patients (56.1%) were in medical and 118 (43.9%) in the surgical ICU. Their mean age was 70.5±15 years and 126 (46.8%) of them were female. The mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation-II, Glasgow coma score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores at ICU admission were 23.4±20.9, 9.8±4.4, and 8.2±3.6, respectively. A few reasons for the ICU admission were: respiratory failure (34.9%), neurologic dysfunction (19%), sepsis (17.8%), and cardiovascular failure (16%). Infection occurred in the 231 (85.9%) patients. Of the 109 (40.5%) deceased patients with the diagnosis of sepsis, 48 (40%) of them were admitted in the ICU with sepsis. The most common site of infection was the respiratory system (34.6%). Septic shock was seen in 170 patients (63.2%) and renal replacement therapy was needed in 61 (22.7%) of them. XDR developed in 34.6% of the deceased patients and was more frequent among those with an antibiotic usage before the ICU admission (p=0.02). The mean length of stay at hospital before the ICU admission and length of the ICU stay were 22±25.8 and 10.1±12.7 days, respectively. The number of the deceased medical patients were significantly higher than the surgical patients (p=0.018). Conclusion: The deceased critically ill medical patients were higher than the surgical patients. A total of 40% of the deceased critically ill patients were diagnosed with a sepsis, and one third of them had XDR infection. XDR infections were more frequent among the patients with an antibiotic usage before the ICU admission.