How to Stop Killing Patients with Healthcare-associated Infections

Background. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), also known as nosocomial infections, are a significant cause of preventable death for patients receiving treatment for medical or surgical conditions. HAIs are attributed to 99,000 patient deaths in the United States annually. These infections rack up an estimated $20 billion of additional costs per year by extending the length of stay for hospitalized patients and increasing the cost of treatment at the same time. Current empirical findings highlight the severity and gravity of the effect that HAIs have on patient communities around the world. Methodology. The Google Scholar search engine was utilized with the search terms (a) nosocomial, (b) hospital-acquired infections, and (c) healthcare-associated infections for articles published between 2011 and 2018, written in English, yielding 13 articles. Supplemental information was gathered utilizing Papadakis’s 2017 edition of Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment. Results. Recent research has established that Staphylococcus aureus, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is the leading nosocomial infection in the world. S. aureus infections are followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli infections in incidence. The most common HAI manifestations include (a) surgical wound infections, (b) respiratory infections, and (c) genitourinary infections. However, central-line bloodstream infections are one of the deadliest with a mortality rate of 12-25%. Patient risk factors for HAIs include (a) age \u3e70, (b) mechanical ventilation, (c) indwelling catheter use, (d) intensive care unit stays \u3e3 days, and (e) immunocompromised states. These infections are most commonly caused by (a) violation of infection control practices, (b) a non-sterile environment, and (c) ill employees. After implementing CDC-based HAI preventative measures, multiple intensive care units in Michigan reported reductions as high as 66% for catheter-associated blood stream infections over a period of 18 months. The overall consensus amongst the studies was that adherence to proper hand hygiene and the standard precautions, including infection-route-specific prevention measures, reduces transmission of HAIs, length of patient stays, healthcare costs, and attributable mortality. Conclusions and Recommendations. HAIs continue to be a major cause of preventable death for hospitalized patients. Multiple articles have identified proper hand hygiene as the single most important factor in curtailing the acquisition of HAIs. Research has shown that a significant reduction of the transmission of these infections can be achieved through adherence to CDC’s HAI-prevention guidelines. Healthcare organizations should adopt the relevant CDC recommendations for preventing HAIs and take all necessary steps to ensure a high level of compliance