Postoperative hospital-acquired infection in Hungvuong Obstetric and Gynaecological Hospital, Vietnam.

A prospective study was conducted following 1364 major operations at the 450-bed Hungvuong Obstetric and Gynaecological Hospital in HoChiMinh City, Vietnam, from 1 May to 30 September 1997 to characterize postoperative hospital-acquired infections. These infections were identified by ward rounds, review of laboratory results and patient follow-up until 30 days after discharge. During the study period, 194 infections were identified, yielding a rate of 14.2 infections per 100 operations. The most common sites were surgical wound and urinary tract, contributing together 95.9% of all hospital-acquired infections. The four most common pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus (29.6%), Escherichia coli (20.4%), Enterococci (16.7%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (14.8%).