[Knowledge of intern and extern medical students of Boali and Amiralmomenin hospitals towards prevention and control methods of nosocomial infections]

Nosocomial infections are one of the most important causes of morbidity and hospital mortality rate in hospitalized patients. The infections that are usually occur 48 to 72 hours after admission are called nosocomial infections. These infections increase the duration of hospitalization for 1-30 days. In Iran, nosocomial infections were reported in 1.9% to 25% of hospitalized patients. This cross sectional study was conducted among 252 medical students [80 interns and 172 externs]. Questionnaires including 40 questions in the form of multiple choices were prepared and distributed randomly among medical students. The answer sheets were collected and corrected. Then, results were analysed using SPSS software. Totally, 33% of students had poor knowledge of nosocomial infections, while 50% and 17% had moderate and good [high] knowledge, respectively. There was no statistically significant relationship between gender and knowledge, however, extern's knowledge were significantly better than intern's. With respect to the poor knowledge of medical students towards nosocomial infection, we suggest a course dealing with nosocomial infections for medical students