Abstract
Healthcare-associated bacteremia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In nursing homes, these infections remain under-documented. We investigated invasive device-associated bacteremia in residents. We analyzed bacteremias acquired in nursing homes using data from a national surveillance program conducted between 2020 and 2024, involving 1,233 French healthcare institutions. A total of 2,117 bacteremias acquired in the nursing home were recorded. The main sources of infection were the urinary tract (52.1%) and the respiratory tract (11.9%). An invasive device was involved in 20.0% of cases, primarily urinary catheters (386 cases), while bacteremia related to intravascular devices was rare (38 cases). Enterobacterales (64.0%) and Staphylococcus aureus (14.6%) were the most frequently identified pathogens, with multidrug-resistant bacteria detected in 15.2% of nursing home-acquired bacteremias. The incidence rate was 0.009 per 1,000 resident-days, remaining stable over the study period. The study highlights the burden of bacteremias in nursing homes and underscores the importance of targeted infection prevention measures, particularly in relation to urinary catheter management, and long-term intravascular central lines.