Hospital infections at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery

Despite modern surgical techniques, preoperative preventive use of antibiotics and optimal treatment of operative site, patients who underwent surgical procedures are still at a risk of developing hospital infections. The aim of this paper was to estimate the frequency of hospital infections at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and their presence according to the anatomic localization as well as to identify the most frequent causes of hospital infections. During one-year period, all surgically treated patients were prospectively followed at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Vojvodina. There were 1302 patients who underwent 1396 surgical procedures during the period observed The descriptive epidemiological method was applied in the study. The following odds ratio and rates were calculated: the incidence rate of patients with hospital infections, the incidence rate of hospital infections and the incidence rate in relation to hospital stay of each patient (incidence density). During that period, 36 hospital infections were recorded in 33 patients. The average incidence rate of patients with hospital infection was 2.53% and hospital infection rate was 2.58% (from 0% to 5.13%). The male-female ratio was 3.1:1. The most frequent hospital infections were surgical site infections (incidence rate 0.86%), then gastroenteritis (incidence rate 0.77%) and bloodstream infections (incidence rate 0.46%). The most common causes of hospital infections were: Staphylococcus aureus (14.8%), Acinetobacter spp (22.2%) and coagulase negative staphylococcus (11.1%). The fact is that the incidence rate of hospital infections is relatively low, and such a trend can continue only if the continuous epidemiological control and preventive measures are implemented in the future.