HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS AMONG SURGICAL PATIENTS IN A BRAZILIAN HOSPITAL

A historical cohort study was conducted among surgical patients in a l arge general hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil between March 1992 and M ay 1993. Data were collected by means of a retrospective chart review, which followed a standardized method based on the systematic review o f all clinical and laboratory information available in the hospital re cords. The criteria for diagnosis of all hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) were based on those from the Centers for Disease Control, Atlan ta. In total, 890 HAIs were detected among the 4199 patients included in the cohort. The incidence rate of HAIs for all sites combined was 2 1.20%. Incidence rates ranged from 2.95% for bloodstream infections to 8.65% for surgical wound infections. The overall incidence density wa s 16.32 HAIs per 1000 patient-days. Incidence densities ranged from 2. 03 for bloodstream infections to 7.46 per 1000 patient-days for surgic al wound infections. The median incubation period for surgical wound i nfections was seven days, and 29.4% of these infections were detected at post-discharge. Gram-negative bacteria were the most common organis ms implicated in HAIs.