[Hospital infections in gynecology and obstetrics. An inclusive prevalence study in Germany]

In a German multicenter survey, 2206 gynaecological patients in 72 randomly selected hospitals were examined for the prevalence of nosocomial infections and possible risk factors. Hospital-acquired infections were diagnosed in 1.45% of the patients. The most common localisation was the urinary tract (0.91%). Septicaemia, vaginitis and infections of the upper and lower airways were only rarely seen. The following endogenous risk factors were identified: diseases of the cardiovascular system (16.1%), malignancies (12.2%) preexisting infections (6.1%), obesity (5.9%), and diabetes (5.0%). The most common exogenous risk factors were peripheral venous catheters (19.9%), catheterisation of the urinary tract (7.2%) and wound drainage (28.6%). 49% of the patients who underwent caesarean section and 50% of the hysterectomy patients received antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis.