What Are Healthcare-Associated Infections

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.

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

Choose a nursing problem from your current practice setting, and identify a possible solution to that problem.

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) .

Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) affect 1.7 million Americans each year with as many as 98,000 dying annually as a result of hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) (Kavanagh, 2007). In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented policy to include non-payment for HAC in order to improve quality patient care and contain costs. This non-payment disincentive refuses to pay for complications of care that are considered preventable. Two other paradigms of this policy used to promote quality include pay-for-performance initiatives and public disclosure of HAC.

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.

The occurrence and undesirable complications from hospital acquired infections (HAIs) have been well recognized for the last several decades. The occurrence of HAIs continues to escalate at an alarming rate. HAIs originally referred to those infections associated with admission in an acute-care hospital (formerly called a nosocomial infection). These unanticipated infections develop during the course of health care treatment and result in significant patient illnesses and deaths (morbidity and mortality); prolong the duration of hospital stays; and necessitate additional diagnostic and therapeutic

Researchers conducted a study to assess the etiology, incidence, and risk factors of CAUTIs in the ICU to determine whether risk factors differed based on whether or not the patient had a second form of HAI along with a CAUTI. Risk factors associated with CAUTIs included age, female gender, presence of infection on admission, underlying diseases such as diabetes mellitus, renal failure, heart failure or immune suppression, recent surgery, previous antibiotic usage, duration of catheterization, and length of stay (Temiz, et al.,

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are infections patients can acquire in a healthcare facility while being given medical care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website notes six major sites of infection that patients are at risk of acquiring while receiving care in acute care hospitals in the United States: pneumonia, gastrointestinal illness, urinary tract infections, primary bloodstream infections, surgical site infections from any inpatient surgery, and other types of infections. Their website recounts that as early as 1847 evidence is documented of persons acquiring infections while receiving care in a hospital. The website for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Agency for Healthcare Research

As a hospital, quality care should be a priority for patients that are going to be treated for a sickness, or any type of procedure that is going to take place. A lot of times a patient gets an infection while they were at the hospital, on top of being treated for what they original came in for. Health facilities should be environments of healing, which they are, but they also have tons of various types of germs and infections, which grasp onto individuals that have weak immune systems/are sick. Some infections that are at hospitals are Tuberculosis, VRE, VAP, C-Diff, UTI, and MRSA. Preventive measures to stop the spread of the infections is lacking tremendously in the work and aim to provide safety for all patient’s health. The work

Hospital acquired infections are one of the most common complications of care in the hospital setting. Hospital acquired infections are infections that patients acquired during the stay in the hospital. These infections can cause an increase number of days the patients stay in the hospital. Hospital acquired infections makes the patients worse or even causes death. “In the USA alone, hospital acquired infections cause about 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths per year”(secondary).

It is evident, one out of every 25 patients in an acute care setting acquires a HAI the United States alone (Bubb, et al., 2016). Further, HAIs result in a significantly higher morbidity, and mortality, lengths of stay, and cost of health care (McNeill, L. 2017); not to mention the negative health outcomes on families, and communities at large (bubb, et al., 2016). In addition, globalization is another factor that has perpetuated the transmission of infectious diseases as the world population has become more mobile.

Controlling spread of infection is the key for the individual or the health care provider and washing hands is the first step. Hand washing is the most single most important strategy for preventing infection transmission. HAIs are the most common complication of hospital care. However, recent studies suggest that implementing existing prevention practices can lead to up to a 70 percent reduction in certain HAIs. The financial benefit of using these prevention practices is estimated to be $25.0 billion to $31.5 billion in medical cost savings (Healthypeople.gov 2020).