Risk factors for nosocomial infections in patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation supportive therapy.

The aim of this study was to analyze risk factors for nosocomial infection (NI) in patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support.Clinical NI data were collected from patients who received ECMO support therapy, and analyzed retrospectively.Among 75 ECMO patients, 20 were found to have developed NI (infection rate 26.7%); a total of 58 pathogens were isolated, including 43 strains of gram-negative bacteria (74.1%) and 15 strains of gram-positive bacteria (25.9%). Multi-drug resistant strains were highly concentrated and were mainly shown to be Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and coagulase-negative staphylococci. Incidence of NI was related to the duration of ECMO support therapy and the total length of hospital stay, and the differences were statistically significant (P<.05). A prolonged period of ECMO support extended the hospital stay, but it did not increase the mortality rate. However, an elevated level of lactic acid increased the mortality rate in this study population.ECMO-associated secondary NIs correlated significantly with the length of hospital stay and with the duration of ECMO support. Therefore, to reduce the incidence of ECMO-associated NIs, preventive strategies that aim to shorten the duration of ECMO support therapy and avoid lengthy hospitalization should be applied, wherever possible.