NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS IN RENAL-TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

A matched-pair case-control study was performed on 72 renal transplant patients with nosocomial urinary tract and postoperative wound infections to assess the length of their hospitalizations. Patients with nosocomial infections required longer hospitalization than the respective controls. There were statistically significant differences (p less-than-or-equal-to 0.05) between: patients who acquired only postoperative wound infection, compared with noninfected renal transplant patients (34 vs. 17 days); patients with urinary tract and postoperative wound infections, compared with noninfected controls (38 vs. 20 days); and between the entire case group and controls (30 vs. 19 days). Patients who acquired concomitant infections had longer hospitalizations than those with only nosocomial urinary tract infection (38 and 25 days, p less-than-or-equal-to 0.05). The results stress the need for effective preventive measures against nosocomial infections, considering the reduction of morbidity and costs of extended hospitalizations of renal transplant patients.