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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1485334
Prevalence and Associated Factors of Nosocomial Infection Among Children Admitted at Jimma Medical Center, Southwest Ethiopia: A Retrospective Study
Provisionally accepted
Tamirat Beyene 1*
Serkalem Aschalew 2*
Fikadu Balcha Hailu 3
Girma Bacha 3 Merga Garoma 4
Elias Kenea 5
Temesgen Geta 1- 1 Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia
- 2 Arsi University, Asella, Oromia, Ethiopia
- 3 Jimma University, Jimma, Oromia, Ethiopia
- 4 Dambi Dollo University, Dambi Dollo, Ethiopia
- 5 Hosanna Health Science College, Hosanna, Ethiopia
Background: Nosocomial infections are a significant public health problem worldwide, affecting hundreds of millions of patients annually. However, studies on nosocomial infections specifically focused on pediatric patients in Ethiopia are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of nosocomial infections and associated factors among children admitted at Jimma Medical Center, southwest Ethiopia.Methods: An institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study design was conducted from June 1 to 30, 2023. Data were collected from the medical records of children. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select a total of 417 medical records. Data were collected using structured checklists. The collected data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6, and Statistical Package for Social Science version 26.0 was used for analysis. The variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.Results: A total of 417 (92.87%) medical records of the pediatric patient the inclusion criteria. Of these, 99 (23.74%) of pediatric patients developed nosocomial infections. Malnutrition [AOR=2.01; 95%CI:1.18,3.42], length of hospital stay [AOR=3.19; 95%CI:1.73, 5.90], antibiotics received at admission [AOR=4.76; 95%CI: 1.86, 12.15], being on mechanical ventilation [AOR=5.04; 95%CI:2.44, 10.43], blood transfusion [AOR=4.51; 95%CI:2.43, 8.35],and urinary catheter [AOR=3.26; 95%CI:1.72,6.18] were significantly associated.The findings of this study indicated that nearly a quarter of children developed nosocomial infections. Malnutrition, length of hospital stay, antibiotics received at admission, being on mechanical ventilation, urinary catheter, and blood transfusion contributed to the development of nosocomial infections. Therefore, the concerned bodies should immediately prevent nosocomial infections and improve identified factors.
Keywords: Prevalence, Nosocomial infection, Children, Ethiopia, Jimma
Received: 23 Aug 2024; Accepted: 28 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Beyene, Aschalew, Hailu, Bacha, Garoma, Kenea and Geta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Tamirat Beyene, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia
Serkalem Aschalew, Arsi University, Asella, Oromia, Ethiopia
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