title: [Nursing care of surgical wound infection].
abstract: The present study deals with the following questions: How large a phenomenon do surgical wound infections constitute? What factors contribute to the development of surgical wound infections? How are surgical wound infections followed up and how are the injuries compensated for? To what extent do surgical wound infections cause extra utilization of health services? What kind of costs are accrued to the individual and to society because of surgical wound infections? Three types of data were used in this study: extensive, nationwide data from hospitals, the patient data of one medium-size central hospital and a nation-wide survey of injuries. The data from hospitals and about injuries were used in calculating the social costs caused by all surgical wound infections in the years 1988-1990. About 4.4 per cent of the operations performed in hospitals in years 1988-1990 (N = 858,745) induced a surgical wound infection. Majority of these infections emerged after the patient had been discharged from the hospital. Among the patient-related factors which increase the risk of getting a surgical wound infection the following can be mentioned: a previous surgical wound infection, secondary infections and a diagnosed previous disease. Among the major factors unrelated to the patient were: the use of a wound drain, more than 5 persons attending the operation theatre during the operation, the surgeon in charge being an assistant surgeon with less than two years' experience and the presence of an infected patient in the operated patient's room during the first 24 postoperative hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hyrylä
mesh_terms: D017281:Cost of Illness; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D012307:Risk Factors; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control
vernacular_title: Leikkaushaavatulehdukset hoidon ei-toivottavina seurauksina.