Epidemiological characterisation of hospital-acquired infections in a private hospital in Neiva in 2013

Abstract

Introduction.  Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) have become a public health issue.  In developed countries between  5  and  10%  of  patients  contract one  or  more  of these  infections  and  it  is  believed  that  between  15 and 40% of patients in critical care units are affected.  Method. A cross sectional study with an analytical approach was carried out in order to characterise the epidemiological features of HAIs in a  private hospital in  Neiva  in  2013.  The study included  251  confirmed  cases.  Results.  The study determined  that  infections  were  most  commonly  a  result  of  surgical  procedures  (SSI),  particularly  superficial  surgical  procedures (31.9%).  The  second  major  cause  o f  infections  were  infections  associated  with  medical  devices, predominantly  urinary tract  infections  associated  with  catheters.  Pneumonia  associated  with  health  care attention  represented  14.3%.  The fatality  rate of  HAIs was  9.5%;  pneumonia  and  bloodstream  infections accounted fo r the highest proportion of fatalities.  Had a  rate of 1.9%.  Conclusion.  The sociodemographic characteristics of cases of HAIs are similar to the performance of health  institutions at a  national  level and that  of developing  countries.