INCIDENCE SURVEILLANCE OF WOUND-INFECTION IN HERNIA SURGERY DURING HOSPITALIZATION AND AFTER-DISCHARGE IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

A six-month prospective incidence surveillance of wound infection was conducted in the department of general surgery of the Rio de Janeiro U niversity Hospital. Postoperative infections were classified according to Centers for Disease Cont;ol criteria. This study reports a rate of 14.04% in surgical infections limited to herniorrhaphy and detected b y surveillance. The majority (87.50%) of them were only apparent after hospital discharge. Fourteen out of 16 patients (88.60%) were not dee med to be at risk for surgical infections. Staphylococcus aureus was t he most important pathogen associated with infection. This report show s that community surveillance is necessary to determine accurate rates of hospital-acquired infection and will help establish prevention and control policies in Brazil.