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Nosocomial Viral Infections: I. Epidemiology and Significance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

William M. Valenti ,
Caroline Breese Hall ,
R. Gordon Douglas Jr. ,
Marilyn A. Menegus  and
Patricia H. Pincus
William M. Valenti*
Affiliation:
Hospital Infection Control Program, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York Infectious Disease Unit and Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
Caroline Breese Hall
Affiliation:
Hospital Infection Control Program, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York Infectious Disease Unit and Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
R. Gordon Douglas Jr.
Affiliation:
Hospital Infection Control Program, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York Infectious Disease Unit and Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
Marilyn A. Menegus
Affiliation:
Hospital Infection Control Program, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York Infectious Disease Unit and Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
Patricia H. Pincus
Affiliation:
Hospital Infection Control Program, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York Infectious Disease Unit and Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
*
University of Rochester Medical Center, Box MED, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642
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Abstract

Viral illnesses in Strong Memorial Hospital were monitored over a 17-month period. Using criteria based primarily on the incubation periods for a number of common virus infections, the infections we found were classified as hospital- or community-acquired. Hospital-acquired viral infections occurred on most hospital services; the majority of infections occurred on the pediatric and psychiatric services. Infections due to herpesviruses were seen more frequently in a group of patients aged 14 years or older, while infections in patients aged three years or younger were more likely to be due to respiratory syncytial virus, influenzavirus, adenovirus, or parainfluenza virus. Patients with nosocomial infections due to viruses were hospitalized an average of 9.3 days longer than uninfected controls; thus nosocomial viral infections result in increased costs of hospitalization.

Type
Research Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , February 1980 , pp. 33 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1980

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