title: [Prospective assessment of the occurrence of infection in critical patients in an intensive care unit].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Care in the intensive care unit (ICU) is constantly challenged by infections related to invasive procedures, which result in increased morbidity and mortality, hospitalization term and costs. This study aimed to prospectively evaluate critical patients according to age, clinical conditions, hospitalization term, occurrence of hospital infection, topography of hospital infection, occurrence of microbial multi-resistance or not, use of invasive procedures and antimicrobial agents.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective, observational, clinical research, carried out at an ICU between February and July 2006. The research subjects were critical patients hospitalized for more than 24 hours at the ICU, followed from admission until discharge, transference or death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study group consisted of 71 patients with a mean age of 53.5 ± 18.75 years. Forty-seven of these patients (66.2%) acquired hospital infection. Twenty-nine infections (37.6%) occurred in the blood stream, 20 (26%) respiratory and 13 (16.9%) urinary. The most frequent multi-resistant strains were: 14 (10.85%) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 4 (3.1%) coagulase-negative Staphylococcus sp and 4 (3.1%) Staphylococcus aureus. The most used antimicrobial agents were carbapenem (22.4%), glycopeptides (21.6%) and cephalosporin (21.6%). Twenty-nine (40.8%) of these patients died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hospital infection is aggravated if associated to the increased resistance of the microorganisms to the antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, USP.
authors.forename: Mery Ellen
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem Geral e Especializada, EERP, USP.
authors.forename: Denise de
authors.initials: Dd
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem Geral e Especializada, EERP, USP.
authors.forename: Vanderlei José
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Haas