Hospital-acquired infection Treatment and Prevention

Hospital-acquired infection, also called Nosocomial infection, is infections that occur in a hospital or in a healthcare service unit. To be considered as nosocomial, infection must occur within 30 days after discharge, or at least 48 hours after hospital admission.

Nosocomial infection is a serious health concern in the United State. Approximately 10% of American hospital patients are infected with a form of nosocomial infections. These infections are responsible for about 80,000 deaths in the USA per year.

The most common types of nosocomial infection include:

• Surgical wound infection
• Respiratory tract infection
• Urinary tract infection
• Skin infection
• Central nervous system infection
• Blood infection
• Gastrointestinal infection.