Introduction: A multiplicity of factors can increase the risk of nosocomial infection in polytraumatized patients. Infections in the hospital environment are still a serious public health hazard. Nonetheless, only a few studies have been published on nosocomial infections in poly-traumatized pediatric patients.

Materials and methods: A 4-month prospective study was carried out of patients admitted to the traumatology department and to the pediatric intensive-care unit between July and November 2003 in order to assess all the procedures the patients were subjected to. Infections were considered to be nosocomial when they appeared 72 hours after admission.

Results: 121 patients were included in the study. 77% (93) were boys and 23% (28) girls, with a mean age of 10.6 years. The number of infected patients was 6 (5%) and the number of episodes of nosocomial infection diagnosed was 12. 33% of infected patients had a single episode and 67% had two or more infections. When considering the intrinsic risk factors considered in the study one should mention that 10% of patients who were admitted were in a coma, 4,1% had a respiratory syndrome and 2% were diagnosed as obese. The most frequently isolated micro-organisms in this group of patients were Gram positive bacteria (50%), while the most common pathogen was coagulase-negative staphylococcus (85,7%).

Conclusions: The paper reveals the profile of nosocomial infections in ploytraumatized pediatric patients in our hospital environment and defines their connection with the use of invasive measures as well as with the length of the patient’s hospital stay.