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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 ]
A 2004 study showed that people in the United States with S. aureus infection had, on average, three times the length of hospital stay (14.3 vs. 4.5 days), incurred three times the total cost ($48,824 vs. $14,141), and experienced five times the risk of in-hospital death (11.2% vs 2.3%) than people without this infection. [123]
The carriage of S. aureus is an important source of hospital-acquired infection (also called nosocomial) and community-acquired MRSA. Although S. aureus can be present on the skin of the host, a large proportion of its carriage is through the anterior nares of the nasal passages [ 2 ] and can further be present in the ears. [ 129 ]
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 .
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.
Fungal sepsis accounts for approximately 5% of severe sepsis and septic shock cases; the most common cause of fungal sepsis is an infection by Candida species of yeast, [29] a frequent hospital-acquired infection. The most common causes for parasitic sepsis are Plasmodium (which leads to malaria), Schistosoma and Echinococcus.
Problematically, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major cause of hospital-acquired infections. MRSA has also been recognized with increasing frequency in community-acquired infections. [7] The symptoms of a staphylococcal infection include a collection of pus, such as a boil or furuncle, or abscess.
Example of a workup algorithm of possible bacterial infection in cases with no specifically requested targets (non-bacteria, mycobacteria etc.), with most common situations and agents seen in a New England setting. Typically identification is done by growing the organism in a wide range of cultures which can take up to 48 hours.