The frequency of bacterial pathogens in infections potentially preventable by antimicrobial prophylaxis.

Bacterial pathogen frequency was analyzed over a fourteen year period at the University of Utah Medical Center. Isolation techniques and identification procedures have remained essentially the same during this period, allowing for a valid comparison of this frequency. For most organisms the frequency of overall isolation had remained relatively stable. Differences were seen in the frequency of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and in the isolation rate of Staphylococcus aureus. Escherichia coli became proportionately less frequent, almost as an adjustment to the increase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A table is presented of these same pathogens and their likelihood to occur in post-operative patients categorized by surgery type in order to define their role in such infections potentially preventable by antimicrobial prophylaxis.