Acta médica portuguesa
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Patients in intensive care units (ICU) are 3 to 4 times more prone to nosocomial infection (NI) than patients in general wards owing to the severity of their pathology and the frequent use of invasive procedures. The aim of this study was to establish the incidence of NI in an ICU and the associated risk factors. ⋯ The incidence of NI is acceptable in our ICU. The most frequent location was the respiratory tract (52.6%). The pathogens most frequently isolated in this ICU were Gram negative rods. The risk of NI increased in more debilitated patients with more severe disease who were administered antibiotic or corticosteroids and submitted to more invasive procedures.