correlation between initial diagnosis at time of icu admission and hospital associated infections

Hospital-acquired infections (hais) in icus significantly impact patient outcomes. while risk factors such as prolonged icu stays and mechanical ventilation are well-documented, the correlation between initial admission diagnoses and subsequent hais remains understudied. this study aimed to quantify the relationship between initial icu admission diagnoses and hai development, focusing on pathogen distribution across diagnostic categories.a retrospective cohort study was conducted at hassan ghazzawi hospital (june 2024-april 2025) involving 30 adult icu patients. data on admission diagnoses, demographic characteristics, and hais (using cdc/nhsn criteria) were collected. statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and pearson correlations using spss version 25. diabetic coma (26.7%, n=8) and cerebral hemorrhage (20%, n=6) were the most frequent admission diagnoses. klebsiella pneumoniae was the predominant pathogen (36.7% of all infections). diabetic coma patients showed the highest pathogen diversity (five different pathogens). cerebral hemorrhage cases demonstrated strong k. pneumoniae association (83.3% of infections in this group). this cohort of 30 icu patients showed that the diabetic coma was the most frequent admission diagnosis, whereas the predominant pathogen was klebsiella pneumoniae. patients who were admitted with diabetic coma or cerebral hemorrhage had multiple pathogens more often compared to the other groups.the initial admission diagnoses, particularly diabetic coma and cerebral hemorrhage, showed clinically meaningful associations with hai patterns despite limited statistical significance (p>0.20) in this pilot cohort. these findings highlight the potential of admission diagnoses as early indicators for targeted infection prevention strategies.