The Journal of hospital infection
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Hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections (HAIs) increase morbidity, mortality and medical costs. In the USA alone, nosocomial infections cause about 1.7 million infections and 99 000 deaths per year. HAIs are spread by numerous routes including surfaces (especially hands), air, water, intravenous routes, oral routes and through surgery. ⋯ Most of these infection control strategies will more than pay for themselves by saving the medical costs associated with nosocomial infections. Many non-pharmacological interventions to prevent many HAIs will also reduce the need for long or multiple-drug antibiotic courses for patients. Lower antibiotic drug usage will reduce risk of antibiotic-resistant organisms and should improve efficacy of antibiotics given to patients who do acquire infections.
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The objectives of the first national prevalence survey on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in Finland were to assess the extent of HAI, distribution of HAI types, causative organisms, prevalence of predisposing factors and use of antimicrobial agents. The voluntary survey was performed during February-March 2005 in 30 hospitals, including tertiary and secondary care hospitals and 10 (25%) other acute care hospitals in the country. The overall prevalence of HAI was 8.5% (703/8234). ⋯ Antimicrobial treatment was given to 39% of patients. These results can be used for prioritising infection control measures and planning more detailed incidence surveillance of HAI. The survey was a useful tool to increase the awareness of HAI in participating hospitals and to train infection control staff in diagnosing HAIs.