BACKGROUND & AIMS:

Hospitalized patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) could be at increased risk for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). By using HAI outcome data from Pennsylvania, we examined the influence of HAIs on in-patient mortality and length of stay (LOS) in the hospital among patients with IBD.

METHODS:

Data were generated by linking the Clinical Research Databases from CareFusion (formerly MediQual), which includes all acute care hospitals in Pennsylvania, with publicly reported HAI data from Pennsylvania. The study population included all patients discharged in 2004 with International Classification of Diseases, 9th Clinical Modification codes of 555.x or 556.x (2324 IBD cases from 161 hospitals). Controls were selected using risk-score matching with a 5:1 ratio. Mortality and LOS end points were estimated and corroborated with regression methods.

RESULTS:

Among the IBD patients studied, there were 20 deaths and 22 reported cases of HAI. The mortality from HAI among patients with IBD was 13.6%, compared with 0.9% among controls (P = .0146, Fisher exact test). The odds ratio for mortality was 17.2 (95% confidence interval, 1.7-174.3). The median LOS for patients with IBD and HAI was 22 days, versus 6 days for controls (P < .001, Wilcoxon). Of the 22 cases with HAIs, 15 were urinary tract infections, 5 were blood stream infections, and 2 were from multiple sources.

CONCLUSIONS:

Results from a population-based data set indicate that mortality and LOS are increased among IBD patients who develop HAIs. A majority of the HAIs were from urinary sources. Although HAIs are low-frequency events, increased vigilance to avoid HAI among patients with IBD could improve outcomes.

Copyright © 2010 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.