Risk Factors for Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria Carriage upon Admission to the Intensive Care Unit Fernández Martínez, Nicolás Francisco Cárcel Fernández, Sheila Gómez Jiménez, Francisco J. Antibacterial drug resistance Critical care Infection control Risk factors Gram negative bacteria Epidemiology We gratefully acknowledge the collaboration of the Unit of Microbiology and the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC). Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB) are microorganisms that have acquired resistance to extended-spectrum antibacterials and constitute an emerging threat to public health. Although carriers are an important source of transmission in healthcare settings, data about risk factors for MDR-GNB carriage are limited. Therefore, we aimed to identify risk factors for MDR-GNB carriage upon intensive care unit (ICU) admission and to optimise screening strategies. We conducted a case–control study. Admissions of adult patients to the ICU of a 1000-bed hospital during a year were included. We collected sociodemographic, clinical and microbiological data and performed a multivariate logistic regression model. A total of 1342 patients resulted in 1476 episodes of ICU admission, 91 (6.2%) of whom harboured MDR-GNB (38.5% women; median age 63.9 years). The most frequently isolated pathogens were Escherichia coli (57%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (16%). The most frequent resistance mechanism was production of extended-spectrum beta lactamases. MDR-GNB carriage was associated to liver cirrhosis (OR 6.54, 95% CI 2.17–19.17), previous MDRGNB carriage (OR 5.34, 1.55–16.60), digestive surgery (OR 2.83, 1.29–5.89) and length of hospital stay (OR 1.01 per day, 1.00–1.03). Several risk factors for MDR-GNB carriage upon admission to a high-risk setting were identified; the main comorbidity was liver cirrhosis. 2022-03-21T12:51:21Z 2022-03-21T12:51:21Z 2022-01-18 journal article Fernández-Martínez, N.F... [et al.]. Risk Factors for Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria Carriage upon Admission to the Intensive Care Unit. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1039. [https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031039] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/73608 10.3390/ijerph19031039 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ open access Atribución 3.0 España MDPI