Abstract

SOSA-DE ANTUNANO, Dámaris et al. Availability of antiseptics obsolete and nosocomial infections in intensive care units of hospitals in Mexico. Rev. Fac. Med. (Méx.) [online]. 2013, vol.56, n.5, pp.6-13. ISSN 2448-4865.

Objective: To analyze the relationship between explicit policies for antiseptics handling, the presence of obsolete antiseptics and nosocomial infections prevalence in intensive care units public hospitals. Methods: An ecological analysis was conducted involving 41 general hospitals of three public health institutions. We use linear regression to estimate the association between hospital-level nosocomial infection prevalence and existence of antiseptics policy and obsolete antiseptics presence. Results: Adjusting by potential confounders, hospitals where had obsolete antiseptics had seven points higher prevalence of nosocomial infection (p=0.001). Those who had evidence of handling policies antiseptics had two points prevalence lower. There was high prevalence of inadequate antiseptics, particularly hydrogen peroxide (46.7%). Conclusions: Our findings confirm that proper selection of antiseptics can lead to improved patient safety. Antiseptics obsolete, even in suitable compounds presence, correlated with higher nosocomial infection prevalence.

Keywords : antiseptics; nosocomial infections; intensive care units.

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