Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are one of the most prevalent healthcare-associated infections, especially in those that are catheterized over a long period of time. These infections are characterized by diverse microbial etiologies and These infections are characterized by diverse microbial etiologies and pronounced systemic inflammatory responses. and pronounced systemic inflammatory responses.
Objective: The objective of the study was to describe the bacterial profile and assess inflammatory biomarkers in patients with CAUTIs in males.
Methods: A case-control study was performed in Al-Najaf, Iraq that involves 134 male patients diagnosed with confirmed CAUTIs and 80 healthy controls. Urine samples were tested by standard microbiological methods and bacterial identification was done by the use of VITEK 2 system. ECLIA and ELISA were used to measure serum procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. One-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation were used as tools of statistical analysis.
Results:134 isolates were found, with Escherichia coli (28.4) being the most common pathogen, then Staphylococcus aureus (21.6) and Enterococcus spp. (15.7%). There was a general predominance of gram-negative bacteria. There was a significant increase in all inflammatory biomarkers in patients as compared to controls (p < 0.0001). Positive correlations were found to be strong between the biomarkers (r > 0.7, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: In CAUTIs, gram-negative bacteria are the most common pathogens and linked with a strong systemic inflammatory reaction. Combining microbiological profiling with inflammatory biomarkers can contribute to the improvement of diagnostic accuracy and targeted therapeutic approaches.