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3.7.6 - Nosocomial Infections

from Section 3.7 - Infection and Immunity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2023

By
Ravi Bhatia
Edited by
Ned Gilbert-Kawai ,
Debashish Dutta  and
Carl Waldmann
Ned Gilbert-Kawai
Affiliation:
The Royal Liverpool Hospital
Debashish Dutta
Affiliation:
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow
Carl Waldmann
Affiliation:
Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
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Summary

Key Learning Points

  1. 1. Nosocomial infections are acquired during an encounter in a healthcare facility and were not present at the time of admission.

  2. 2. Nosocomial infections have significant associated morbidity, mortality and financial costs.

  3. 3. The combination of certain patient, organisational and microbial factors encountered in critical care makes it a potential focus for nosocomial infections.

  4. 4. The most common nosocomial infections encountered in critical care include ventilator-associated pneumonias, surgical site infections and catheter-associated bloodstream infections.

  5. 5. Meticulous hand hygiene, aseptic non-touch techniques and cleanliness are the pillars of preventing nosocomial infections.

Keywords

hospital-acquired infectioniatrogenic patient harmasepsishand hygiene
Type
Chapter
Information
Intensive Care Medicine
The Essential Guide
 , pp. 259 - 261
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

References and Further Reading

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). www.cdc.gov/hai/index.htmlGoogle Scholar
Khan, HA, Baig, FK, Mehboob, R. Nosocomial infections: epidemiology, prevention, control and surveillance. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2017;7:478–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons, PG, Kollef, MH. Prevention of hospital-acquired pneumonia. Curr Opin Crit Care 2018;24:370–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rigby, R, Pegram, A, Woodward, S. Hand decontamination in clinical practice: a review of the evidence. Br J Nurs 2017;26:448–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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