URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS AND PRESSURE SORES AT GREEN PASTURES SPINAL INJURY UNIT

Authors

  • Friedbert B Herm Green Pastures Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal.
  • R B Tripathi Western Regional Hospital, Kaski, Nepal.
  • - Altrichter University of Halle / Saale, Germany.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.801

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Between 46-59% of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) cases develop Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) and 16-18%
develop pressure sores during the first year after the trauma. In a retrospective approach, the occurrence of
UTI and pressure sores at Green Pastures Hospital’s Spinal Injury Unit was studied. Between 1997-2000
out of 39 included patients 27 had suffered a thoracic-lumbar, 12 a cervical trauma. Twenty of these
( 51.2% ) developed UTI and 7 ( 17.9% ) developed pressure sores during their hospitalization period. The
most commonly organism found in both complications, UTI and pressure sores, was E. coli, followed by
Proteus in UTI and Staph. aureus in pressure sores. Detected UTI and pressure sores among referred
patients at admission was higher than expected (71.7% and 48.7% respectively). In conclusion, adherence
to a protocol by a multidisciplinary health care team resulted in favourable outcome of patients with SCI
admitted to the rehabilitation unit. This is believed to be an indicator for the need of specialized SCI units.
However, also in the studied sample at Green Pastures there was room for further improvement within the expected range.

Key Words: Spinal Cord Injury, Urinary Tract Infection, Pressure Sore.

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Published

2003-03-01

How to Cite

Herm, F. B., Tripathi, R. B., & Altrichter, .-. (2003). URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS AND PRESSURE SORES AT GREEN PASTURES SPINAL INJURY UNIT. Journal of Nepal Medical Association, 42(146), 92–95. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.801

Issue

Vol. 42 No. 146 (2003)

Section

Original Article

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