The Clinical Characteristics of Nosocomial Sinusitis in Patients with Nasogastric Tube: A Single Center Retrospective Study

Background Nosocomial sinusitis is one of the most common nosocomial infections, and has been reported to be associated with fever and other nosocomial infections. In the case of patients with neurological diseases, the incidence and the risk factors of nosocomial sinusitis have not been well studied. Methods We conducted a retrospective study including patients with nasogastric tube in the neurology department. The demographic information, the clinical data and the severity evaluation including Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score were collected. Results: A total of 118 patients were enrolled, and 50 of them were treated in neuro-intensive care unit (NCU). Up to 56.78% of all the patients and 54% of NCU patients have developed nosocomial sinusitis. The length of stay in NCU was significantly correlated with nosocomial sinusitis with the P-value of 0.048. Compared with patients without nosocomial sinusitis, patients with nosocomial sinusitis revealed higher percentage of tracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation and longer ventilation duration, though not significantly. The high incidence time of nosocomial sinusitis after indwelling gastric tube was 1.74-9.88 days. Conclusion: Nosocomial sinusitis was highly prevalent in neurological patients with nasogastric tubes. The length of stay in NCU was significantly correlated with nosocomial sinusitis. More research is warranted to elucidate the risk factors for nosocomial sinusitis.