Epidemiological Patterns for Early Onset and Late Onset Bacteremia After Trauma

Purpose: Bacteremia is a major nosocomial infection problem in view of its high mortality. Bacteremia occurs in trauma patients frequently and increases a morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors and to describe epidemiological patterns for early onset (EOB) and late onset (LOB) bacteremia after trauma.

Methods: All trauma patients admitted to surgical intensive care unit (SICU) and general ward (GW) from January 2011 to December 2015 were retrospectively enrolled. The following information was collected for each patient and recorded in a computer database: demography, severity of trauma according to the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and each abbreviated injury score (AIS), severity of coma according to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), presence of shock and transfusion. Early onset bacteremia was defined as EOB when onset occurred within 7 days after trauma, and late onset bacteremia was defined as LOB when appearing after 7 days from trauma.