Epidemiological study of surgical wound infections.

The present report describes the results obtained in an epidemiological study of surgical wound infections through a continuous and active epidemiological surveillance program lasting one year and which covered all the Surgical Services of the University Clinical Hospital. The number of infections studied was 217, with an overall infection rate of 3%. The majority of the infections (46.5%) were detected in the General Surgery Service. Regarding the infection rate by Services, the highest corresponded to the Urology Service, with a rate of 10%. In 26% of the cases, other hospital-acquired infections occurred in patients who underwent a surgical operation. The microorganisms responsible for the infections observed were mainly Gram-negative (67%), and within these the most commonly isolated were E. coli and Proteus spp..