Nosocomial infection associated with ICU patients and Devices
‘Nosocomial’ or ‘healthcare associated infections’ (HCAI) appear in a patient under medical care in the hospital or other health care facility which was absent at the time of admission. Invasive devices such as catheters and ventilators employed in modern health care are associated to these infections. Of every hundred hospitalized patients, seven in developed and ten in developing countries can acquire one of the healthcare associated infections. According to Extended Prevalence of Infection in Intensive Care (EPIC II) study, the proportion of infected patients within the ICU are often as high as 51%. With increasing infections, there is an increase in prolonged hospital stay, long term disability, increased antimicrobial resistance, increase in socio-economic disturbance, and increased mortality rate
Other
Nosocomial infections or healthcare associated infections occur in patients under medical care. These infections occur worldwide both in developed and developing countries. Nosocomial infections accounts for 7% in developed and 10% in developing countries. As these infections occur during hospital stay, they cause prolonged stay, disability, and economic burden. Nosocomial infections can be controlled by practicing infection control programs, keep check on antimicrobial use and its resistance, adopting antibiotic control policy.
