RESUMO
BACKGROUND: inhospital neonatal sepsis (IHNS) is a clinical syndrome characterized by an inflammatory reaction with local or systemic signs of infection, accompanied by the causal agent in the first month of life. The objective was to know the incidence and risk factors associated with IHNS. METHODS: during 2006 and 2007 a total of 49 patients in the case group and 50 patients in the control group were included in the study. A serie of qualitative variables comparing the two groups to determine their association were analyzed. RESULTS: We found an incidence of IHNS in our hospital of 3.7 %. The most frequently observed risk factors were: birth weight between 1501-2500 g, in the hypotrophic group, the use of central vascular access, ranitidine, steroids, parenteral nutrition, endotracheal intubation, orogastric catheter, vesical catheter, and also the presence of cardiopathy or hyaline membrane disease (HDM). The mortality rate was 24.4 %. CONCLUSIONS: the incidence of IHNS was less than reported in the literature. The number of deaths associated with IHNS was low.