MEETING ABSTRACT Open Access Old and new strategies for the prevention of nosocomial infections

Nosocomial infections are a significant issue of public health. In Italy, the incidence of nosocomial infections range between 5 and 8 % [1]; in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) range between 7 and 24.5 % [2]. Nosocomial infection in a newborn is defined as an infection arised after 48-72 hours of hospitalization. The extremely low birth weight (ELBW) neonates have an increased risk of developing infections (40%) [2], due to the immaturity of the immune system, the prolonged length of hospitalization and the frequent need for inva-sive procedures (central venous catheters- CVC, mechanical ventilation, parenteral nutrition, prolonged antibiotic therapies). In NICU, sepsis accounted for 45-55 % of cases of nosocomial infections, followed by the lower respiratory tract infections (16-33%), skin and sof