The effects of nosocomial infections on the length and costs of hospital stay

The excess of hospital stay and associated costs were assessed in patients hospitalized in the departments of general surgery and orthopaedics who acquired nosocomial infections. The matched-pair case-control method was used to estimate the length of the hospital stay of infected patients. Urinary tract infection occurred in 3%, wound infection in 1·7% and multiple infections in 0·6% of all patients surveyed. Post- operative fever of undetermined origin was observed in 4·3% of the orthopaedic patients. Urinary tract infection prolonged the average hospital stay of the nosocomially infected patient by an average of 5·1 days, wound infection by 12·9 days, post-operative fever by 8·0 days and multiple infections by 18·0 days as compared to the uninfected matched controls. The annual cost of excess hospital stay caused by nosocomial UTI amounted to $28, 000, by wound infection $34, 420 and by multiple infections $16, 040. Nosocomial infections in surgical and orthopaedic patients are associated with prolonged hospital stay and excessive costs.