What are Hospital-Acquired Infections?

Hospital-acquired infections are infections people get while hospitalized or shortly after coming home from the hospital. In Europe and the US, these infections occur at the rate of about 6-10% of all people hospitalized, and can range from minor treatable conditions to serious and life-threatening ones. In the US alone, it’s estimated that about 100,000 people die each year from these infections. There are many different types of infections in hospitals and many different modes of transmission.

Most hospital-acquired infections are secondary to the reason why the person is hospitalized. People don’t enter the hospital with the infection, but get it as a result or byproduct of care that is not careful enough. Principally, infections are bacterial, since bacteria exist opportunistically in hospital settings, and tend to spread easily.

Common types of hospital-acquired infections are those of the urinary tract, the lungs (pneumonia), and of skin or surgical wounds. Principal means of passing infection occur directly when skin or other areas of the body come into contact with another person’s hands, clothing, or with hospital equipment. Other infections occur when patients inhale airborne germs, or when they receive such substandard care that sores develop.

Hospitals set standards to prevent infections as much as possible, but a number of studies have shown that standards aren’t always followed. Some of the most important disease prevention aspects include handwashing, covering clothing, maintaining a schedule of equipment replacement, using only appropriately sterilized equipment, and keeping all surfaces clean. Higher standards exist for any procedures that involve cutting into the skin, and special attention to clean or sterile protocol must be paid to prevent skin or wound infections.

Other important preventative elements include making sure to screen visitors. Hospital-acquired infections come from outside of the hospital, so visitors need to be aware of protocol. Things like wearing gloves or handwashing can be important for visitors too, and people who are ill should not visit.

100% adherence to policies preventing hospital-acquired infections is still probably inadequate. Hospitals are unfortunately full of bacteria. They are the places sick people get care and it’s very difficult to prevent the spread of certain germs that are airborne. Nevertheless, continued improvement is warranted because there are potentially deadly infections, including some forms of pneumonia and the greatly feared methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which are extremely challenging to treat.

Those hospitalized and their caretakers should feel fully justified in questioning cleanliness of procedures, expressing concern about failure to change equipment, or follow time schedules for care procedures. It’s okay to ask a health care provider to wash his or hands before any direct care or to express concern over use of equipment that is not clean. This oversight may be useful and is the best patient defense against infection. Patients or caretakers should also note to providers immediately if health status changes, if fever occurs, if breathing is impaired, if there is difficulty urinating or if any sores or evidence of infection appear on the skin.