ACTA FAC. MED. NAISS. 2007; 24 (1): 9-13

   Original article

Dusan Vlatkovic, Marko Vukovic, Rada Aleksic
 

Department of General Surgery and Orthopaedics General Hospital Trebinje

The treatment of osseous-joint infections presents a problem in all conditions due to the character, duration and consequences of this complication. In the conditions of general surgery ward, there are numerous aggravating factors.

Osseous-joint infections belong to the group of nosocomial infections (NI) defined as infections a patient is exposed to during hospitalization. Most infections which manifested 48 hours after the hospitalization are regarded as nosocomial infections. The patient can be affected by nosocomial infection after leaving the hospital if microorganism is passed on during treatment or hospitalization. Postoperative infection of surgical wounds or infection of the site of surgical intervention is an example of such nosocomial infection.

In accordance with the aforementioned, we have undertaken the following preventive actions: isolated hospitalization of the patient, early surgical intervention in the isolated operating theatre, administration of antibiotic therapy intraoperatively and four to five days postoperatively. We have paid special attention to surgical technique: removing a tissue of suspicious vitality, cleansing wounds, and avoiding dead tissues in wounds. We have reduced patient's hospitalization to the shortest possible time.

Key words: osseous-joint infections, treatment of nosocomial infections