Nosocomial infection in long-term care facilities. A survey in a Brazilian psychiatric hospital

ABSTRACT

Nosocomial infection among male patients in a public psychiatric hospital was studied and the definitions for use in long-term care facilities were employed for diagnosis. The overall nosocomial infection rate was 6.7 per 1,000 day inpatients; 55.6 of these infections were identified in the respiratory tract, 50 of them being respiratory viral diseases; 38.9 of the nosocomial infections involved the eyes, ears, nose, throat and mouth, and 5.6 involved the skin and soft tissues. The epidemiological characteristics and the main clinical alterations of these inpatients were also identified.