title: Length of preoperative hospital stay: a risk factor for reducing surgical infection in femoral fracture cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze infections of the surgical site among patients undergoing clean-wound surgery for correction of femoral fractures.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a historical cohort study developed in a large-sized hospital in Belo Horizonte. Data covering the period from July 2007 to July 2009 were gathered from the records in electronic medical files, relating to the characteristics of the patients, surgical procedures and surgical infections. The risk factors for infection were identified by means of statistical tests on bilateral hypotheses, taking the significance level to be 5%. Continuous variables were evaluated using Student's t test. Categorical variables were evaluated using the chi-square test, or Fisher's exact test, when necessary. For each factor under analysis, a point estimate and the 95% confidence interval for the relative risk were obtained. In the final stage of the study, multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  432 patients who underwent clean-wound surgery for correcting femoral fractures were included in this study. The rate of incidence of surgical site infections was 4.9% and the risk factors identified were the presence of stroke (odds ratio, OR = 5.0) and length of preoperative hospital stay greater than four days (OR = 3.3).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To prevent surgical site infections in operations for treating femoral fractures, measures involving assessment of patients' clinical conditions by a multiprofessional team, reduction of the length of preoperative hospital stay and prevention of complications resulting from infections will be necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hoberdan Oliveira
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Edna Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Rezende
authors.affiliation: Institute of Engineering and Technology, University Center of Belo Horizonte (UNIBH), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bráulio Roberto Gonçalves Marinho
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Couto
keywords: Femoral fractures; Infection of the operative wound; Risk factors