Abstract
Critically ill patients often display a systemic inflammatory response due to the presence of a catabolic stress state. Physical barriers are commonly altered in critical illness, presenting an opportunity for microorganisms to enter the body. Invasive devices or procedures compromise the body’s natural barrier functions in critically ill patients, leading to risk of infection. Altered host defense mechanisms can predispose critically ill patients to infections due to the presence of endotracheal tubes, arterial or venous catheters, urinary catheters, and broad-spectrum antibiotic exposure. Treatment of infections can be difficult in critically ill patients due to increased resistance to common antimicrobial agents. Preventative strategies are crucial to reducing the prevalence of infection in health-care institutions. This chapter provides an overview of the epidemiology, microbiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of four major infectious problems in critical illness: pneumonia, urinary tract infection, bloodstream infection, and antibiotic-associated gastrointestinal infections.
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Abbreviations
- BSI:
-
Bloodstream infections
- CAUTI:
-
Catheter-associated urinary tract infection
- CDI:
-
Clostridium difficile infections
- CRBSIs:
-
Catheter-related bloodstream infections
- FMT:
-
Fecal microbiota transplant
- HLA-DR:
-
Human leukocyte antigen-DR
- ICU:
-
Intensive care unit
- MDR:
-
Multidrug resistant
- NAP1/BI/027:
-
Toxinotype III REA type BI, PCR ribotype 027, pulsed-field type NAP-1
- PO:
-
By mouth
- QID:
-
Four times daily
- TID:
-
Three times daily
- UTIs:
-
Urinary tract infections
- VAP:
-
Ventilator-associated pneumonia
- WBC:
-
White blood cell
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Martin, S.J., Sejnowski, C.A. (2015). Extent and Nature of Infectious Diseases in Critical Care. In: Rajendram, R., Preedy, V.R., Patel, V.B. (eds) Diet and Nutrition in Critical Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7836-2_140
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7836-2_140
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