Abstract

VARGAS NARANJO, S. et al. Risk factors for development of intrahospitalary infections in burned patients. Hospital S. Juan de Dios, Costa Rica: January 2003-December 2005. Part I. Cir. plást. iberolatinoam. [online]. 2009, vol.35, n.3, pp.223-232. ISSN 1989-2055.

Intrahospitalary infection in burned patients is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality. This study characterizes the admitted burn victims and the presence of inner-hospital infection at the National Burn Victims Unit , San Juan de Dios Hospital, Costa Rica, between 2003 and 2005. We made a descriptive analyze of intrahospital infection in the burned area according characteristics of the patients and their burn(s), as well as the total number of days of hospital stay, using a prospective cohort. The accumulated incidence for intra hospital infection in the burned area was 19.0%. In the months following the beginning of the school year, the number of burn victims admitted in the hospital increased. Age, total burnt surface, the number of burnt body segments, the depth of the burn and the days of hospital stay varied significantly between infected and not infected individuals. The cause of the burn and the victim's gender did not reveal any relevant differences between the groups of patients. For patients that developed intrahospital infection in the burned area, electricity was the most frequent causing agent, as was hot water for patients without intra hospital infection in the burned area. As a conclusion, physiopathologic characteristics of the burns favor the occurrence of the intra hospital infection in the burned area; furthermore, there are factors than can and must be taken into account to control and prevent intrahospital infection in the burned area and its effects.

Keywords : Bursns; Nosocomial infection; Burn depth; Total burn surface.

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