[Bacterial flora of 241 patients in an intensive care service]

The investigators performed an epidaemiological study of 260 patients in intensive care and identified the causal organisms by the obtaining of various specimens: tracheobronchial, urinary, blood cultures and catheter samples. By means of these specimens, they attempted to effectuate counts for each patient and the compare each month the patients definitely infected with the infections presented by the new patients. This study attempts to demonstrate the frequency of infections of the same kind when the intensive care unit consists of a single ward without separation of the patients and where the hospital staff treat all the patients in the unit in turn.