National prevalence survey of hospital-acquired infections in Czechoslovakia.
A nationwide 1-day prevalence survey of a total of 12,260 patients in 23 hospitals across Czechoslovakia yielded 751 cases of hospital-acquired infection (HAI), a prevalence of 6.1%. Analysis of the data revealed that the prevalence of HAI amongst surgical patients was almost twice that amongst medical patients (8.2% vs. 4.4%). Persons aged over 60 on the urological and surgical wards were at highest risk of acquiring infection. The most frequent site of HAI was the urinary tract (25%), followed by surgical wounds (15%) and the upper respiratory tract (13%). Fifty per cent of infection in gynaecological patients occurred within 6 days of admission compared with 15% in urological patients, and a wide variation was seen in other specialties.
D000367:Age Factors; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003604:Czechoslovakia; D003625:Data Collection; D006306:Health Surveys; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors