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Nosocomial Infections on a Rehabilitation Unit in an Acute Care Hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Lindsay E. Nicolle ,
Lisa Buffet ,
Nancy Alfieri  and
Robert Tate
Lindsay E. Nicolle*
Affiliation:
Department Office of Infection Control, Calgary General Hospital, and Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, and Departments of Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Lisa Buffet
Affiliation:
Department Office of Infection Control, Calgary General Hospital, and Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, and Departments of Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Nancy Alfieri
Affiliation:
Department Office of Infection Control, Calgary General Hospital, and Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, and Departments of Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Robert Tate
Affiliation:
Department Office of Infection Control, Calgary General Hospital, and Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, and Departments of Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
*
Health Sciences Centre, MS675D-X20 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg. Manitoba R3N IR9
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Abstract

In a one-year retrospective review, 138 symptomatic infections were identified in 145 admissions to a rehabilitation unit. One hundred twenty-six (91%) infections were either urinary or skin and soft tissue infections. The daily incidence of infection increased with increasing numbers of infections for infected patients. Patient factors associated with infection included male sex, young age, spinal cord injury, admission for management of decubitus ulcers or urinary infection, history of urinary infection, urologic interventions or skin breakdown, and bladder and bowel incontinence. All patients with a history of chronic urinary infection or skin breakdown developed infection. In a logistic regression model, factors that were independently associated with risk of infection in the remaining patients included sex, incontinence, chronic neurologic disease, and prior urologic interventions. This review suggests rehabilitation patients are at high risk of acquiring nosocomial infection. The subgroup of patients with the highest risk of infection are identifiable by specific characteristics.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 9 , Issue 12 , December 1988 , pp. 553 - 558
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1988

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