Nosocomial Infection
Definition
Infections that appear 48hrs or more after admission in a hospital or within 30 days after discharge
Modes of transmission
Contact -
Direct contact transmission- body surface to body surface - through hospital staff
Indirect contact transmission - contaminated instruments, needles or dressings or contaminated gloves
Vector borne - through insects and other invertebrate animals such as mosquitoes and fleas
Air borne - tiny droplet nuclei suspended in air
Droplet - Droplet generated by sneezing, coughing, respiratory tract procedures like bronchoscopy or suction
Common vehicle - indirect spread by materials contaminated with the microbes
Common infections :Urinary tract infection, Catheter associated infection , pneumonia, blood tream infections
Surgical site infections : Purulent discharge in wounds or at the site of insertion ofdrain or spreading cellulitis from wounds
Nosocomial pneumonia : Commonly caused by acinetobacter.
Nosocomial bacteraemia : The incidence is increasing particularly for certain organisms such as multiresistance coagulase negative staphlococcus and candida. Infections may occur at the sin entry site of the IV device or in the sub cutaneous path of catheter
Urinary tract infections : most common cause of nosocomial infections; 80% of the infections are associated with indwelling catheters.
Hospital Infection Control Programme
Prevention and control
Isolation, Sterilization of all reusable equipments such as ventilators, humidifiers and any device that come in contact with the respiratory tract
Sterilization : Washing hands with soap and water, Using gloves,
in summary : proper asepsis, proper hand washing and sterilization
Steps to Effective Hospital Infection Control Programs
1. Educate staff. continual staff education on correct practices and the organization's infection control policies. taught the importance and appropriate technique of hand hygiene.; appropriate antibiotic use. " not to overuse antibiotics. eliminate unnecessary antibiotic use
2. Create a multidisciplinary team. include the hospital epidemiologist, infection preventionists, a microbiologist and representatives from the main hospital departments. IT and secretarial support are also essential.
3. Collect data.
4. Analyse the collected data
5. Communicate the data. The infection control department needs to communicate surveillance data to staff to ensure awareness of any issues.
6. Develop action plans.
7. Additional activities : monitoring hand hygiene, monitoring sterilization and disinfection practices/sterilizer function, monitoring negative pressure rooms and performing infection control risk analyses for all hospital construction projects.
8. Stay up-to-date on policies and news. . "It's hard to prevent entry of resistant bacteria where the system is such that there is a lot of patient movement from one medical setting to another," she says. Communication with neighboring medical facilities can help prevent the spread of infections. If there is an outbreak at a nearby nursing home, for instance, the hospital needs to be aware and take steps to protect the hospital from infection.
Remember, there is an emergence of new infections every 10-15 years. Develop new policies and procedures with little data or experience to rely on. hospitals should monitor new developments in infection control and update policies as needed using evidence-based guidelines from infection control organizations.
In summary, effective hospital infection control involves ongoing processes of infection surveillance, data collection and analysis, data reporting, implementation of policies and action plans, education and constant vigilance.
Define nosocomial Infection. Describe the sources, mode of transmission and write about the hospital infection control programme.
Dr.MGR Medical University Question : microbiology Feb 2020
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