Healthcare Associated Infections Research Paper

Healthcare associated infections are ranked as one of the top five causes of death in the United States (1). This is a very serious problem being that so many people go to hospitals to maybe have a surgery and get better and in return get a very serious infection that has been known to take limbs and even lives. There are many different hospital acquired or nosocomial infections, but the one that I am referring to is especially dangerous. The name of this infection is called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, or more commonly known as MRSA.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2017), “Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the fourth most common type of healthcare-associated infection, with an estimated 93,300 UTIs in acute care hospitals in 2011. UTIs additionally account for more than 12% of infections reported by acute care hospitals. Virtually all healthcare-associated UTIs are caused by instrumentation of the urinary tract” (p. 7-1).

Through medical advances in technology and practice, nurses have been afforded the opportunity to provide lifesaving care to patients. However, this lifesaving care comes with the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Generally speaking, HAIs are infections directly related with the delivery of healthcare and are often caused by viral, bacterial or

Healthcare acquired infections (HAI) not only contribute to exorbitant amounts of financial burden on the healthcare system but also attribute to staggering numbers of

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common nosocomial infection; accounting for up to 40% of infections reported by acute care hospitals. Up to 80% of UTIs are associated with the presence of an indwelling urinary catheter. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) represent the largest proportion of healthcare associated infections (HAI). Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) increases hospital cost and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality .CAUTIs are considered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to represent a reasonably preventable complication of hospitalization. As such, no additional payment is provided to hospitals for CAUTI treatment-related costs.CAUTIs can lead to

Hospital- acquired infections is also another concern for patients. The common health-acquired infections include surgical site infections, ventilator – associated pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, blood stream and bacterial infections. Annually, these types of infections cost the U.S. about $9.8 billion. Topping the list for the most costly burden are surgical-site infections.

Healthcare is an ever-growing, booming industry and as medical technology advances so should our standards of care. Once known as hospital acquired “nosocomial” infections, Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are still afflicting the very patients we are to be treating. These patients could be our loved ones, friends, and family so to say that, “1 in 25 hospital patients have at least one HAI in a U.S. acute care hospital” (CDC, 2015), is still one too many.

Hospital acquired infections (HAI) will begin to display signs and symptoms within 48 hours. In order to treat the infections, physicians need to diagnostic tools quickly. The manufacturer of new diagnostic test makers, Kalorama Information stated last year that the world demand for testing and treatment of HAI will be over 10 billion dollars by the year 2015, increasing from 9 billion dollars in 2010. Kalorama also stated that HAI has a 5% infection rate of 40 million hospital visits a year, causing 100,000 deaths in the U.S. annually (Kalorama Information, July 14, 2011). Early diagnosis will improve the patient's outcome and decrease the chance of death. According to Kalorama, 20-30% of the HAI can be prevented by the simple use of better hand washing and cross contamination avoidance although the others need more intensive changes such as hospital ventilation systems and using more disposable supplies (Kalorama Information, p. 113) .

Healthcare-associated infections from invasive medical devices are linked to high morbidity, mortality, and costs worldwide. Especially in central line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) or catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) and

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) surveillance should identify the population who are of greater risk for contraction or transmission of MDROs over a 12- month period.

Continuing to study these issues and re-implement processes and procedure as needed is important in reducing these infections not only for patient safety but also for health care costs. As Wheeler et al., (2011) states “BSI’s are common, preventable adverse events in hospitalized patients and are associated with substantial morbidity, cost, and mortality” (p.1001). Adverse events are often considered to be preventable and often insurance companies will not pay for these types of events. For instance, Medicare and Medicaid stopped reimbursing health care institutions for these type of events such as BSI’s (Abad & Safdar, 2011). Due to the impact that Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements make in healthcare organizations, it is becoming increasingly important that measures be taken to prevent this type of adverse event. The advantages to preventing CABSI’s, solutions for preventing, and quality improvement models and methods for change will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

Hospital acquired infections are spread by numerous routes including contact, intravenous routes, air, water, oral routes, and through surgery. The most common types of infections in hospitals include urinary tract infections (32%),

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have been found to be number ten on the list of the leading causes of death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have estimated that in a year HAIs cause 1.7 million infections, 99,000 associated deaths, all of which cost approximately $30 billion (Masud & Vykoukal, 2011). HAIs are the kind of infections that are acquired by patients during the course of receiving treatment for other conditions. HAIs in most cases affect those patients who are receiving medical surgical treatments or those with reduced host defenses as a result of age, underlying diseases, or even other conditions. For many years those patients that were affected by these infections were reported

ill patients are at risk of getting further diseased by a number of hospital infections. Patients

Infection control within a healthcare facility is the prevention of the spread of many microorganisms from patient to patient, patient to a member of staff and also from the staff member to the patient that are in there care. The World Health Organisation have defined healthcare associated infections as an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other healthcare facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the time of admission. Every healthcare facility from hospitals to general practitioners office should have a designated member of staff or a team of people who ensure that the infection control procedures are abided by and adhered to at all times in order to protect both staff and patients. More than 300,000 people each year are affected by a healthcare associated infection and the cost of treatment for these patients is over £3,000 and there is also the cost of treatment after discharge.