Evaluation of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection Rates in Surgical and Medical Intensive Care Units at a Tertiary Care Center: A Surveillance Study From North India

Introduction: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients, with catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) being one of the most prevalent infections in intensive care unit (ICU) settings.The primary objective of this study was to determine the incidence rate of CAUTI among catheterized patients at a tertiary care hospital within the Etawah district through surveillance.Materials and methods: The present study was conducted over one year (January-December 2024) in the surgical ICU (SICU) and 10 months (March-December 2024) in the medical ICU (MICU) by infection control team members.CAUTI case framing was conducted as per standard guidelines.CAUTI, healthcare-associated urinary tract infection (HA-UTI) rates, and device utilization ratio (DUR) were calculated using patientrelated surveillance case sheets.Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated.Additionally, the demographic and microbiological profile of CAUTI cases was also assessed.Results: CAUTI rates in the present study ranged between 0 and 15 (overall being 5.7) per thousand urinary catheter days in SICU and 0 and 6.76 (overall being 1.6) per thousand urinary catheter days in MICU, which is quite comparable with other studies from India and abroad.Similarly, the highest HA-UTI rate was found to be 14.9 in SICU and 6.6 in MICU.In the SICU, CAUTI and HA-UTI rates showed fluctuations over 2024, with peaks in June (CAUTI 15.0, HA-UTI 14.9) and lows in March, April, September, and December.MICU rates were generally lower, with minor peaks in August (CAUTI 6.76, HA-UTI 6.6).DUR ranged between 0.78 and 1.03 in SICU and 0.93 and 0.99 in MICU, respectively.Conclusion: This study provides the first significantly relevant and practice-guiding data on CAUTI rates at a tertiary care hospital in Etawah, filling an important knowledge gap and establishing a foundation for evidence-based infection prevention strategies tailored to the local healthcare environment.