Hospital Benefits Of Hospital Acquired Infections
1608 Words
7 Pages
Introduction/Review of Literature
Introduction
Hospital acquired infections (HAI), also known as healthcare associated infections or nosocomial infections, are infections transmitted to patients while in a hospital or other healthcare facility. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), there were approximately 722,000 patients suffering from hospital acquired infections in the United States in 2011 of whom 75,000 suffered fatalities. Accordingly, hospital acquired infections accounted for more deaths in 2011 than the 32,367 fatalities from motor vehicle accidents combined with the 41,374 fatalities from breast cancer in 2011 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014, September; U.S Department of Transportation, 2012). Individuals at greatest risk for developing a hospital acquired infection are patients who are 70 years or older, are in the intensive care unit for a prolonged period (generally more than 3 days), are on mechanical ventilation, have suffered a major trauma, are in a coma, have kidney failure, have indwelling catheters, and/or patients who are immunocompromised (Mehta, Gupta, Todi, Myatra, Samaddar, Patil, & Ramasubban, 2014)
Central Points of the Issue/Literature Review
In recent years, as reporting of hospital acquired infections have become mandatory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS), and patient advocacy groups have recognized the severity of the
Introduction
Hospital acquired infections (HAI), also known as healthcare associated infections or nosocomial infections, are infections transmitted to patients while in a hospital or other healthcare facility. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), there were approximately 722,000 patients suffering from hospital acquired infections in the United States in 2011 of whom 75,000 suffered fatalities. Accordingly, hospital acquired infections accounted for more deaths in 2011 than the 32,367 fatalities from motor vehicle accidents combined with the 41,374 fatalities from breast cancer in 2011 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014, September; U.S Department of Transportation, 2012). Individuals at greatest risk for developing a hospital acquired infection are patients who are 70 years or older, are in the intensive care unit for a prolonged period (generally more than 3 days), are on mechanical ventilation, have suffered a major trauma, are in a coma, have kidney failure, have indwelling catheters, and/or patients who are immunocompromised (Mehta, Gupta, Todi, Myatra, Samaddar, Patil, & Ramasubban, 2014)
Central Points of the Issue/Literature Review
In recent years, as reporting of hospital acquired infections have become mandatory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS), and patient advocacy groups have recognized the severity of the