Nosocomial infections in internal medicine, University of Frankfurt, Germany--a prospective surveillance study.
Nosocomial infections (NI) are serious complications associated with high morbidity and mortality. In the present study, NI were analyzed prospectively at the Center of Internal Medicine (CIM) (300 beds) of the J. W. Goethe-University -a 1380-bed major tertiary care teaching hospital- during a study period of six month. During the study period a single physician evaluated all patients with signs and symptoms of an infection during his daily rounds. NI was defined as body temperature >38 degrees C and evidence of an infection not before the third day of admission to the hospital. NI was diagnosed in 127 patients (3.5%) of the 3605 patients studied. The data of 126 patients with NI could be collected and analyzed completely. Of the 126 patients 34 patients died. The mean length of hospitalization before the diagnosis of NI was 12.0 days (standard-deviation: +/-13.1 days; median: 7 days). Compared to all patients with NI significantly more patients of the Internal Intensive care unit (11.3%), of the HIV-ward (10.3%), and of the hematology / oncology ward (5.8%) acquired a NI (p<0.05). With respect to other groups of patients the frequency of NI ranged from 0.5 to 4.6 per 100 admitted inpatients. The lower rate was in patients admitted for invasive diagnostic procedures who were hospitalized only for 3 days or less.