Comparing hospital infections in the elderly versus younger adults: an experience in a Brazilian University Hospital.

The elderly population will grow rapidly over the next 25 years, however there is little information about hospital infections in this group of patients in Brazil. We examined the prevalence of nosocomial and community infections in elderly ((3) 65 years) patients and their relationship with intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors in a Brazilian University Hospital. A total of 155 hospitalized elderly patients were evaluated, and clinical and demographic information about each patient was obtained from hospital records. The rates of nosocomial and community infections were 16.1% and 25.6%, respectively. When the elderly group with and without nosocomial infections was analyzed, practically all the risk factors considered (use of antibiotics, invasive devices, surgery and time of hospitalization) were significantly more associated with the patients with hospital infection. All patients with nosocomial infections were taking antibiotics and most of them (56.0%) were being treated with two or more antibiotics; the length of hospitalization was double (p=0.007) compared to patients who had not acquired hospital infection. The most frequent sites of nosocomial and community infections were surgical (56.0%) and the skin (37.1%), and most of the patients (47.5%) were in the surgical clinic wards. In conclusion, the elderly patients were more likely to develop a nosocomial infection (16.1% prevalence). Surgical infection accounted for the majority (56.0%) of the nosocomial infections, in contrast with North American studies that indicate urinary tract infections to be the commonest.