[Trends in knowledge production in nursing about infection control in oncology]

Health clients with cancer have significant morbimortality complications related to infection. This integrative review analyzes scientific production in nursing about infection control in health clients with cancer. The 37 articles included were found through electronic databases, and published from 2002 to 2009. The data were analyzed from the perspective of epistemological categorization methodology for nursing research. The results indicate that the production is international that it is mostly in the area of clinical oncology, that it emphasizes customers as subjects of investigation, that it also emphasizes exogenous sources of infection, and that literature review articles are prevalent. Conclusions are that the production of knowledge in infection control is a priority on the national scene, and that actions must be based on a systemic view that considers the complexity of providing professional nursing care.