This document discusses nosocomial infections, also known as hospital-acquired infections. It notes that nosocomial infections are caused by various antibiotic-resistant bacteria, viruses, and fungi that patients and healthcare workers transmit to each other in hospitals. It identifies greater hospitalization length, invasive medical devices and procedures, older or younger age, immune deficiency, and comorbidities as risk factors. The document recommends implementing infection control protocols to reduce transmission between patients and healthcare workers through proper hand hygiene, disinfecting medical equipment, enforcing staff personal protective equipment use, and managing hospital waste.

1. NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION
By
Zahraa Mahmoud Ahmed
Mahmoud
Teaching assistant at faculty of dentistry south
valley university
Oral biology department

2. NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS
• A nosocomial infection is an infection you get
while you're in the hospital for another
reason.
• It's also called a hospital-acquired infection or
a health-care associated infection. Patients
and healthcare professionals bring germs
inside hospitals and pass them to each other.

3. ETIOLOGY OF NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS
• etiological agents vary and include
antibiotic resistant bacteria, particularly
Staphylococcus aureus, Gram negative
bacilli and enterococci, viruses (which
account for up to 20% of cases), and
fungi.

4. RISK FACTOR FOR A NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION
 Greater length of hospitalization.
 Excessive or improper use of broad-spectrum
antibiotics.
 Higher number of invasive devices and procedures
(for instance: central venous catheters, urinary
catheters and surgical procedures).

5.  Age—more common in neonates, infants, and the elderly.
 Immune deficiency.
 Comorbid conditions:
o Diabetes.
o Chronic lung disease.
o Renal insufficiency.
o Malnutrition.

6. PREVENTION OF NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION
• Implementation of infection control protocols to reduce
exogenous and endogenous transmission in health-care
facilities.

7. EXOGENOUS TRANSMISSION :
occurs due to person-to-person interactions and
through environmental cross-contamination.
 Transmission from environment:
1. The use of cleaning agents on walls, floor,
windows, beds, baths, toilets and other medical
devices.

8. 2. Improper food handling may cause
food borne infections. The area should be
cleaned and the quality of food should
meet standard criteria.

9. TRANSMISSION FROM STAFF:
Personal hygiene is necessary for everyone so
staff should maintain it.
1. Hand washing as often as possible ,use of
alcoholic hand spray ,removing jewellery
before washing , Hand decontamination is
required with proper hand disinfectants after
being in contact with infected patients.

10. 2. Stethoscope: cleaning with an
alcohol swab at least daily.
3. Safe injection practices and sterilized
equipments should be used.
4. Use of masks, gloves, head covers or
a proper uniform is essential for
healthcare delivery

11. 5. Routine disinfection of surfaces, patient
equipment, and medical devices
6. White coats: enforced use in clinical units
7. Intravenous catheter: routine removal of
peripheral catheters after 72 hours

12. HOSPITAL WASTE MANAGEMENT:
1. Infectious healthcare waste should be stored in the area with restricted
approach.
2. Waste containing high content of heavy metals and waste from surgeries,
infected individuals, contaminated with blood and sputum and that of
diagnostic laboratories must be disposed off separately.
3.Healthcare staff and cleaners should be informed about hazards of the
waste and it's proper management

14. ENDOGENOUS TRANSMISSION:
1. From excessive and improper use of broad-spectrum
antibiotics:
• Appropriate antimicrobial use with the correct agent, dose, and duration
is needed to minimize the growth of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

17. References
• WHO
• The burden of health care-associated infection worldwide (2016)
• [Online] Available from: http://www.who.int/gpsc/country_work/burden_hcai/en/ [Accessed on 10th August, 2016]
• CDC
• Types of healthcare-associated infections. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) (2016)
• [Online] Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/HAI/infectionTypes.html [Accessed on 10th August, 2016]
• G.M. Raja Danasekaran, K. Annadurai
• Prevention of healthcare-associated infections: protecting patients, saving lives
• Int J Community Med Public Health, 1 (1) (2014), pp. 67-68
• .L. Vincent, J. Marshall, E. Silva, A. Anzueto, C.D. Martin, R. Moreno, et al.
• International study of the prevalence and outcomes of infection in intensive care units
• JAMA, 302 (21) (2009), pp. 2323-2329
• View PDFCrossRefGoogle Scholar
• . Allegranzi