Nosocomial infections in intensive care wards: a multicenter prospective study.

In a three-year prospective investigation, a total of 6,952 patients were investigated prospectively in nine intensive care wards and their rate of nosocomial infections was analysed. The frequency of the nosocomial infections varied between 3% and 27%. The most frequent nosocomial infections were urinary tract infections, sepsis, infections of the skin and of the subcutaneous tissue, pneumonia and wound infections. The most frequent causes of sepsis were ventilation pneumonia, venous catheters, wound infections and urinary tract infections. The pathogen spectrum was analysed. By specific control of infection with employment of an infection control nurse, the frequency of nosocomial infections on intensive care wards was lowered from 17.2% to 14.3% within one year in one of the hospitals.