title: [Post-operative mediastinitis in a heart hospital of Recife: contributions for nursing care].
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of post-operative mediastinitis with the purpose to contribute to nursing care knowledge. To do this, an analysis was performed on 896 medical records of patients who underwent heart surgery involving sternotomy at the Cardiology Emergency Room of Recife-PE, in the period between June 2007 and June 2009. The following variables were considered: gender, age, type of surgery, personal history, length of stay, use of antibiotics, and culture of the surgical wound. A high death rate from mediastinitis was observed (33.3%). Several risk factors were identified, including: systemic arterial hypertension (80.9%); smoking (61.9%); diabetes mellitus (42.8%); and obesity (33.3%), most of which (76.2%) were identified in patients who underwent surgery for myocardial revascularization. It is concluded that mediastinitis is a serious infection that needs continuous nursing supervision and preventive measures to assure an early diagnosis and, thus, reduce mortality.
authors.affiliation: Departamento Médico Cirúrgica, Faculdade de Enfermagem Nossa Senhora das Graças, Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marina Gabriella Pereira de Andrada
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.forename: Ludmila Medeiros Outtes
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Lidianne Fábia de Moraes
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Alcantara
authors.forename: Simone Maria Muniz da Silva
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bezerra
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D002309:Cardiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008480:Mediastinitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult