Comparison of costs for reusable and disposable syringes.

The cost for reusable and disposable syringes was studied in Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, a university hospital in the northern part of Thailand. The cost for operating reusable syringes includes that for cleaning and sterilization. This consists of labour, replacement for defective syringes, tap water, electricity, depreciation of instruments. The cost for disposable items was calculated from the number of syringes used multiplied by the price of the individual size. Results showed that 34,598 syringes were used monthly from August to October 1989. The cost for reusable syringes was 84,714 baht in comparison with 81,874 baht for disposable items. The latter was cheaper by 2,840 baht per month. It is concluded that disposable syringes are cheaper, at least in this university hospital.

Nosocomial infections in Maharaj Nakhon Chiang Mai Hospital 1987.

All 5,543 patients discharged from 24 wards of Maharaj Nakhon Chiang Mai hospital from April 8 to July 7, 1987 were studied. It was found that 29.2 per cent of patients had community infections, 6.3 per cent (348) of the patients developed nosocomial infections, the infection rate was 9.3 per cent (514 episodes). The highest infection rate was found among ICU, followed by private, surgical, medical, pediatrics, and Ob-Gyn nursing services. Females were more affected than males. The most common infections were urinary and respiratory; followed by bacteremia, surgical wound infections, infections of skin, and gastrointestinal tract. E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella species were the major causative micro-organisms. The commonly used antibiotics were penicillins and aminoglycosides. Patients who had a nosocomial infection had to stay in hospital for an average of 17 days longer than patients who did not. The mortality rate of patients who had a nosocomial infection was 3.8 times that of patients who did not.