Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A hospital-acquired infection, also known as a nosocomial infection (from the Greek nosokomeion, meaning "hospital"), is an infection that is acquired in a hospital or other healthcare facility. [1] To emphasize both hospital and nonhospital settings, it is sometimes instead called a healthcare-associated infection . [ 2 ]
MRSA infection is common in hospitals, prisons, and nursing homes, where people with open wounds, invasive devices such as catheters, and weakened immune systems are at greater risk of healthcare-associated infection. MRSA began as a hospital-acquired infection but has become community-acquired, as well as livestock-acquired.
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), often contracted in a hospital are infections that patients acquire during the course of receiving healthcare treatment for other conditions. The most dangerous show antibiotic resistance .
Determining the presence of a hospital acquired infection requires an infection control practitioner (ICP) to review a patient's chart and see if the patient had the signs and symptom of an infection. Surveillance definitions exist for infections of the bloodstream, urinary tract, pneumonia, surgical sites and gastroenteritis. [citation needed]
Hospital acquired pneumonia is the second most common nosocomial infection (after urinary tract infections) and accounts for 15–20% of the total. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It is the most common cause of death among nosocomial infections and is the primary cause of death in intensive care units .
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is a private nonprofit professional organization based in Arlington, VA for healthcare practitioners dedicated to the principles of infection control. APIC has more than 15,000 members. APIC concentrates its efforts in the hospital, nursing home and home health settings.
Pneumonia is the most common hospital-acquired infection that causes death. [29] Before the advent of antibiotics, mortality was typically 30% in those that were hospitalized. [ 22 ] However, for those whose lung condition deteriorates within 72 hours, the problem is usually due to sepsis. [ 41 ]
For humans, common hospital fomites are skin cells, hair, clothing, and bedding. [5] Fomites are associated particularly with hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), as they are possible routes to pass pathogens between patients. Stethoscopes and neckties are common fomites associated with health care providers. [6]