OBJECTIVE To analyze the current situation and characteristics of hospital-associated infection in a psychiatric hospital, providing references for formulation of control measures for hospital-associated infection.

METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted on hospital-associated infection data from Shanghai Mental Health Center between Jan.1, 2019, and Oct.31, 2024.The infection rates and infection sites across different years, patient populations, and departments were analyzed.

RESULTS A total of 47 051 inpatients were investigated, with 1 798 cases of hospital-associated infections, resulting in an infection rate of 3.82%.The highest incidence rate was observed in 2020(4.13%).The top three departments with the highest incidence rates were the infectious disease department (12.13%), geriatric psychiatry (7.67%), and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department department (4.90%).The primary infection sites were the lower respiratory tract (57.06%), urinary tract (18.24%), skin and soft tissue (14.29%).The incidence rate was higher in males (5.32%) than in females (2.72%)(P < 0.001).Statistically significant differences were found in the incidence rates among different age groups (P < 0.001), with the highest rate observed in patients aged over 90 years (17.11%).The lowest infection rate was found in patients hospitalized for less than 60 days (0.69%), while the highest was in those hospitalized for more than 1 000 days (49.94%).

CONCLUSIONS The patients in psychiatric hospitals are susceptible to infections in the respiratory tract, urinary tract, skin and soft tissue.Targeted prevention and control measures can be implemented based on high-risk factors such as age, length of stay, and gender to reduce the occurrence of infections.