Sarcouncil Journal of Applied Sciences Aims & Scope

Abstract: Mixed bacterial-fungal infection is a severe and poorly identified complication in immunocompromised patients, which leads to the delay in diagnosis, improper empirical treatment, prolonged hospital stay, and high mortality. The aim of this retrospective case-control study carried out at a tertiary care hospital was to find out clinical predictors related to mixed infections and assess their effects on the outcomes. Patients with microbiologically confirmed infections, who were immunocompromised, were included; mixed bacterial-fungal infections and cases with only bacterial infections were included respectively. Multi-variable logistic regression was done on 210 patients (70 cases and 140 controls) and neutropenia (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.9-7.4), prolonged broad-spectrum antibiotic use (more than 7 days) (OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.2-9.1), ICU admission (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.4-5.8), and As independent predictors of mixed infections, central venous catheterization (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.6-6.3) was used. There was a great deal of association of these infections with increased mortality (38.5%) as compared to 18.2%, p < 0.01) as well as increased length of hospital stay. Timely diagnostic assessment and tailored modalities of treatment can enhance the clinical outcome of high-risk patients when these patients are identified early in life.