Results of the Spanish national nosocomial infection surveillance network (VICONOS) for surgery patients from January 1997 through December 2003.

Background: In 1997, a national standardized surveillance system for nosocomial infections (NI) in surgery patients was established in Spain. This system, known as the VICONOS program, is based on the US National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System (NNISS). Herein, we present a summary of the data collected from January 1997 to December 2003.