title: Incidence surveillance of wound infection in hernia surgery during hospitalization and after discharge in a university hospital.
abstract: A six-month prospective incidence surveillance of wound infection was conducted in the department of general surgery of the Rio de Janeiro University Hospital. Postoperative infections were classified according to Centers for Disease Control criteria. This study reports a rate of 14.04% in surgical infections limited to herniorrhaphy and detected by surveillance. The majority (87.50%) of them were only apparent after hospital discharge. Fourteen out of 16 patients (88.60%) were not deemed to be at risk for surgical infections. Staphylococcus aureus was the most important pathogen associated with infection. This report shows that community surveillance is necessary to determine accurate rates of hospital-acquired infection and will help establish prevention and control policies in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Institute of Microbiology, Brazil.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Bravo Neto
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Gontijo Filho
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D059685:Herniorrhaphy; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology*