Incidence of nosocomial infections with mrsa in correlation with the workload of medical nurses at the surgical intensive care unit of the General hospital Celje

Background: Everywhere in the world, morbidity and mortality due to nosocomial infections are on increase. The effectiveness of nosocomial infection control has become an important indicator of the quality of hospital work as well as a considerable contribution towards cost reduction.Methods: Our three-year prospective study was aimed to investigate the daily workload of medical nurses in correlation with the incidence of nosocomial infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus at the surgical intensive care unit of the General Hospital Celje, using a Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System. Although in our hospital the Surgical Intensive Care Unit meets the highest hygienic standards, the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, despite its decreasing trend, is still high.Results: Infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus occurred in the periods when the nurses were overloaded by more than 25% on average.Conclusions: The excessive work overload of medical nurses is one of the key risk factors for spread of nosocomial infections.