Nosocomial

Nosocomial refers to infections that have been caught in a hospital and are potentially caused by organisms that are resistant to antibiotics. These infections are also known as hospital-acquired infections (HAI) or healthcare-associated infections.

Definition

A Nosocomial infection is an infection that is acquired in a hospital or other health care facility. To emphasize both hospital and nonhospital settings, it is sometimes instead called a health care–associated infection (HAI or HCAI). Such an infection can be acquired in hospital, nursing home, rehabilitation facility, outpatient clinic, diagnostic laboratory or other clinical settings.

Causes

Infection is spread to the susceptible patient in the clinical setting by various means. Health care staff can spread infection, in addition to contaminated equipment, bed linens, or air droplets. The infection can originate from the outside environment, another infected patient, staff that may be infected, or in some cases, the source of the infection cannot be determined. In some cases the microorganism originates from the patient's own skin microbiota, becoming opportunistic after surgery or other procedures that compromise the protective skin barrier.

Prevention

Though most hospitals clean hands, use protective equipment, and take other safety measures, hospital-acquired infections are still a significant issue in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 1.7 million hospital-associated infections every year, and these infections cause or contribute to 99,000 deaths annually.

See also

• Infection control
• Hospital-acquired infection
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Nosocomial Resources
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