2. INTRODUCTION
Nosocomial infections, also called health-care-associated or hospital-
acquired infections (HAIs), are a subset of infectious diseases acquired in a
health-care facility
To be considered nosocomial, the infection cannot be present at
admission; rather, it must develop at least 48 hours after admission
These infections can lead to serious problems like sepsis and even death
3. The infection must occur:
β’ Up to 48 hours after hospital admission
β’ Up to 3 days after discharge
β’ Up to 30 days after an operation
β’ In a healthcare facility when someone was
admitted for reasons other than the infection
4. 01
7% in developed and
10% in developing
countries
02
15% of all hospitalized
patients
03
Proportion of infected
patients within the ICU
are often as high as
51%
04
1.7 million, 99.000
deaths each year
(USA)
Cases
5. Nosocomial infections are caused by:
1
Multidrug-resistant
pathogens acquired
via invasive
procedures
2
Excessive or improper
antibiotic use
3
Not following infection
control and prevention
procedures
In fact, many nosocomial infections are preventable through
guidance issued by national public health institutes
6.
7. What is the most common type of nosocomial infection?
Pneumonia
22%
Surgical site
infections
22%
Gastrointestinal
17%
Urinary tract
13%
Bloodstream
10%
Others
17%
Pneumonia Surgical site infections Gastrointestinal
Urinary tract Bloodstream Others
8.
9. Who is at risk for a nosocomial infection?
β’ Increasing age
β’ Length of hospitalization
β’ Excessive or improper use of broad-spectrum
antibiotics
β’ Number of invasive devices and procedures
β’ Accompanying conditions
