High Prevalence of Multidrug-resistant Bacteria on Patient Medical File Surfaces at Five Critical Care Units in Kampala, Uganda: an Explanatory Sequential Mixed-methods Study

Abstract

Intensive care units (ICUs) and high-dependency units (HDUs) care for critically ill patients, many of whom have multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.Reference Lakbar, Medam and Ronfl1,Reference Tosi, Roat and De Biasi2 Healthcare providers (HCPs) interact with patients and their medical records in these settings daily. For example, HCPs often place patient files near the bedside and in various locations throughout the units, which may increase the risk of transferring MDR among patients and providers.Reference Tosi, Roat and De Biasi2 In Uganda, most health facilities rely on a paper-based system for recording and storing patient clinical data,Reference Basajja and Nambobi3 raising concerns about cross-contamination of bacteria and hospital-acquired infections. Nevertheless, research on MDR contamination of patient medical records in Ugandan ICUs and HDUs remains sparse. To address this gap, our study investigated the prevalence and distribution of MDR bacteria on the surfaces of patient medical files. Additionally, we explored HCP perspectives regarding infection prevention and control (IPC) at three ICUs and two HDUs in Kampala through an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach.