DETECTED FREQUENCY OF BACTEREMIA IN DECUBITUS ULCER WOUNDS AND FACTORS
AFFECTING DECISIONS TO TREAT
Abstract
Aim: Decubitus ulcers are a significant cause of morbidity and
mortality, and a source of considerable expense in health expenditures.
Bacteremia is a frequently seen complication of decubitus ulcers,
although its incidence has yet to be well defined, and there are scarce
studies on the subject. The aim in the present study is to assess the
frequency of bacteremia of decubitus ulcer origin as an indicator in
decisions to start systemic antibiotics in patients with decubitus
ulcers. Material and metods: Included in the study were all patients
over the age of 18 years receiving palliative care in hospital, and with
a decubitus ulcer. All decubitus wounds were washed with sterile saline
and a sample was taken using a sterile cotton swab from the deepest and
the most solid part of the wounds. we included 76 patients whose 40
(52.6%) were male and 36 (47.4%) were female, with a mean age of
70.8±15.6 (18-95) years. Among the 76 patients, 75 (65.2%) had
decubitus ulcer infections at 115 different sites of the body. Result:
The rate of bacteremia in decubitus ulcers was 13.9% (16/115) , and the
agents were found to be polymicrobial in the wound cultures of 42
(55.2%) of the patients. The most common accompanying bacteria were
acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and E.coli. Among the decubitus
ulcers, 49 (42.6%), 60 (52.4%) and 6 (5.2%) were evaluated as stage
4, 3 and 2 decubitus ulcers, respectively. Conclusion: The causative
agent of decubitus infections was found to be the agent causing
bacteremia in 13.9% of the patients with decubitus ulcers in the
present study. The agent growing in the wound culture was rarely found
to be the causative agent of bacteremia when deciding whether to treat
decubitus ulcer infections.