Hospital Infections

With the advent of technology, there has been an improvement in techniques and precautions used world wide to avoid infections during hospitalization of a patient. However, it is not possible to avoid or eliminate hospital infections completely. An infection acquired after hospitalization of a patient is considered to be one of the most serious concerns throughout the medical history.

In most of the countries (including developed and developing), doctors and hospital staff are educated to avoid any kind of possibility of infection during hospitalization of a patient. However, it is also very important to make patients and people visiting hospitals aware of such situations and educate them to avoid such infections.

Hospital Acquired Infections:
Infection is nothing but disease acquired by a healthy human being through any means (by touching an object or infected person, through inhaling air containing germs or bacteria of diseases or through body fluid that contains such germs, viruses, parasites or bacteria which cause disease in a healthy human being). Infections that occur in hospitals are known as Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI).

Hospital acquired infections mainly involve infections of lungs, blood, skin, urinary tract etc. Patients having weakened immune system are most vulnerable to such infections (HAI).

Who can acquire HAI?
Every patient who is admitted to the hospital stands a chance of acquiring such infections. As mentioned above, people having weakened immune system (people suffering from immune system related disease such as AIDS or other diseases that weakens their immune system) are most vulnerable for such infections. Not only people who are admitted to hospital, but also those who visit hospitals are under the risk of acquiring infections in hospitals.

The other factors that contribute to such conditions are: longer stay of a patient in a hospital, use of unhygienic procedures and instruments during operation or any such treatment, improper use of medicines such over or under use of antibiotics which may lead to development of resistance to such medicines in bacteria, failure to maintain hygiene etc.

What are the most common HAI?
It is very common for patients to pick infections of blood streams, pneumonia, lungs, wounds etc. during their hospitalization. The following are few most commonly found infections in hospitals:

MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus): This is a common bacterium which spreads through infection. This bacterium is found on the skin and other parts of body such as nose of people. MRSA bacterium finds its way into a person’s body through a wound or cut and infects him/her. MRSA bacterium has become resistant to most of the antibiotics which makes it very hard to treat infection caused by these bacteria. MRSA is one of the most commonly spread infections during a person’s stay in hospital.

Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE): This bacterium infects patient’s urinal tract, intestine or blood streams. It enters in patient’s body through wounds or cuts when he/she consumes meat or comes in contact with an animal carrying this bacterium and stays dormant till any antibiotic is used on the patient. This type of infection often occurs when a person is hospitalized.

Infection of ESBL-producing bacteria: This bacterium spreads through feces of an infected person. The worst thing about ESBL-producing bacteria is that they can pass the technique of ESBL production (Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase are enzymes which are produced by bacteria and have ability to speed up biochemical reactions in body leading to medical complications) to other bacteria and the strains of these bacteria are rapidly becoming resistant to commonly used antibiotics. The infection of ESBL-producing bacteria is also among the most common HAIs.

Pneumonia: Pneumonia as mentioned earlier, is one of the most common HAIs.

Psuedomonas Aeruginosa: This is one of the most notorious pathogen which has developed resistance against most of the antibiotics used. It can cause endocarditis, gastrointestinal infections and respiratory infections in patients.

Necessary precautions:
Make it sure that the hospital in which patient is admitted follows strict hygiene policies and the staff of the hospital understands and follow the same.

Make sure the equipments used during the treatment are sterilized properly and the person who is treating the patient uses gloves and washes his/her hands before and after the inspection or treatment.

Discuss with your doctor about the illnesses you are (patient) suffering from and your medical history which might help doctors in understanding and confirming on the treatment and take care of possible infection care.

If anyone of the visitors is already suffering from any disease which can lead to infection in patients in the hospital, in such case he/she should be requested not to visit unless he/she is not contagious any more.

Patients, who are suffering from contagious diseases, should be kept in isolation and necessary procedure should be followed in order to quarantine the diseases.