Abstract

Nosocomial infections (NI), also known as hospital acquired infection (HAI), is infection whose development is favoured by a hospital environment, such as one acquired by a patient during a hospital visit or one developing among hospital staff. Such infections include fungal and bacterial infections and are aggravated by the reduced resistance of individual patients. Nosocomial infections continues to be of major clinical and epidemiologic importance in developing countries as it constitutes a major source of morbidity, mortality and significant incremental health care expense for the hospitalized patient, despite major advances in clinical sciences. As per the Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control (SENIC) routine surveillance of NI has become an integral part of infection control and quality assurance in US hospitals because it's potential of reducing nosocomial infections. Studies performed in the United States have demonstrated that an integrated infection control program that includes targeted device-associated surveillance can reduce the incidence of nosocomial infection by as much as 30% and lead to reduced health care costs.

Keywords: Nosocomial Infections

References

  1. 1.Haley RW, Culver DH, White JW, Morgan WM, Emori TG, Munn VP, et al. The efficacy of infection surveillance and control programs in preventing nosocomial infections in US hospitals. Am J Epidemiol 1985;121:182-205.
  2. 2.Cevik MA, Yilmaz GR, Erdinc FS, Ucler S, Tulek NE. Relationship between nosocomial infection and mortality in a neurology intensive care unit in Turkey. J Hosp Infect 2005;59:324-30.
  3. 3.Rosenthal VD, Guzman S, Crnich C. Deviceassociated nosocomial infection rates in intensive care units of Argentina. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2004;25:251-5.
  4. 4.Garner, J.S., W.R. Jarvis, T.G. Emori, T.C. Horan and J.M. Hughes, 1996. CDC definitions for nosocomial infections. In: APIC infection Control and Applied Epidemiology: Principles and Practice. Ed., Olmsted, R.N., St. Louis: Mosby, pp: A1-A20.
  5. 5.Doebbeling BN, Stanley GL, Sheetz CT, Pfaller MA, Houston AK, Annis L, et al. Comparative efficacy of alternative hand-washing agents in reducing nosocomial infections in intensive care units. N Engl J Med 1992;327:88-93.
  6. 6.Pittet D, Hugonnet S, Harbarth S, Mourouga P, Sauvan V, Touveneau S, Perneger TV. Effectiveness of a hospital-wide programme to improve compliance with hand hygiene: Infection Control Programme. Lancet 2000;356:1307-12.
  7. 7.Fendler EJ, Ali Y, Hammond BS, Lyons MK, Kelley MB, Vowell NA. The impact of alcohol hand sanitizer use on infection rates in an extended care facility. Am J Infect Control 2002;30:226-33.
  8. 8.Pittet D. Improving adherence to hand hygiene practice: a multidisciplinaryvapproach. Emerg Infect Dis 2001;7:234-40.
  9. 9.Dubbert PM, Dolce J, Richter W, Miller M, Chapman SW. IncreasingvICU staff handwashing: effects of education and group feedback. InfectvControl Hosp Epidemiol 1990;11:191-3.
  10. 10.Donowitz LG. Handwashing technique in a pediatric intensive carevunit. Am J Dis Child 1987;141:683-5.
  11. 11.Pittet D, Mourouga P, Perneger TV. Compliance with handwashing in a teaching hospital. Infection Control Program. Ann Intern Med 1999; 130:126-30.
  12. 12.McGuckin M, Taylor A, Martin V, Porten L, Salcido R. Evaluation of a patient education model for increasing hand hygiene compliance in an inpatient rehabilitation unit. Am J Infect Control 2004;32:235-8.
  13. 13.Sudsukh U, The control of nosocomial infections in Thailand in the future, J Med Assoc Tahi 1989 72; (supp l 2) 44-5.
  14. 14.Danchaivijitr S, Mortensen N. Use of prevalence data, In: Hospital Infection Prevalence Survey and Program Guidea WHO Manual (Unpublished).
  15. 15.Mayon-White RT, Dual G, Kereselidze T, Tikhomirov E. An international survey of the prevalence of hospital acquired infection. J Hosp Infect 1988: 11: S43-8.
  16. 16.Britt MR, Burk JP, Nordguist AG, et al. Infection control in small hospital: prevalence surveys in 18 institutions. JAMA 1976; 236: 1700-3.
  17. 17.S.A. Khan. Nosocomial infection: general principles & the consequences, importance of it’s control and an outline of the control policy - A Review Article. Bangladesh Medical Journal 2009; 38(2): 60-64
  18. 18.Boyce JM. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 1992, 13:725.
  19. 19.Shrestha B, Pokhrel B, Mohapatra T. Nepal Med Coll J. 2009; 11:123
  20. 20.Van Hal SJ, Stark D, Lockwood B, Marriott D, Harkness J. J Clin Microbiol 2007; 10: 1128
  21. 21.Dettenkofer M, Wenzler S, Amthor S, Antes G, Motschall E, Daschner FD. Does disinfection of environmental surfaces influence nosocomial infection rates? A systematic review. Am J Infect Control 2004;32:84-89.
  22. 22.Dettenkofer M, Spencer RC. Importance of environmental decontamination e a critical view. J Hosp Infect 2007;65: 55-57.
  23. 23.Kramer A, Schwebke I, Kampf G. How long do nosocomial pathogens persist on inanimate surfaces? A systematic review. BMC Infect Dis 2006;6:130. Recent Insight into Nosocomial Infections, Nasser Al-Jarallah 57
Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences · eISSN 1658-8223 · Majmaah University · open access