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A Prospective Study of Nosocomial Infections in a Chronic Care Facility
Author(s) -
Farber Bruce F.,
Brennen Carole,
Puntereri A. J.,
Brody Judith P.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1984.tb02234.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pneumonia , urinary system , tobramycin , prospective cohort study , nursing homes , epidemiology , gentamicin , intensive care medicine , ampicillin , nursing care , antibiotics , emergency medicine , nursing , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
To elucidate the epidemiology of nosocomial infections occurring in nursing homes and chronic care facilities, the authors undertook a prospective study of patients requiring two different levels of nursing care. The overall rate of infection was higher on the intermediate care ward than on the nursing home ward (1.35 versus 0.67 infections/100 patient care days). Pneumonias and symptomatic urinary tract infections accounted for 49 per cent of all infections. Eight of ten cases of pneumonia occurring on the nursing home ward were diagnosed in the winter months, and no case was diagnosed in the summer months. Resistance to gentamicin, tobramycin, ampicillin, and trimethoprim—sulfa was common among organisms causing symptomatic urinary tract infections.