Understanding the means of acquisition, sources, and reservoirs of nosocomial pathogens is crucial for developing methods to reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections. The article in this issue by Graman et al1 highlights the continued importance of the environment, especially water sources, as a reservoir for nosocomial pathogens. Important water reservoirs in the hospital include potable ...

Background: The rate of nosocomial infection appears to depend on whether it is calculated using the Center for Disease Control (CDC) or carrier state criteria. The objective of this study was to differentiate between primary endogenous (PE), secondary endogenous (SE) and exogenous (EX) infections, and to compare this classification with CDC criteria for nosocomial infections. Methods: ...

BACKGROUND There have been few reports on the causes and treatment outcomes for nosocomial spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in patients with liver cirrhosis. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study to compare the microbiological and clinical characteristics in nosocomial versus community-acquired SBP. All patients with SBP, for whom culture was proven to be positive for SBP a...

BACKGROUND Many studies associated nosocomial infections with increased hospital costs due to extra days in hospital, staff time, extra investigations and drug treatment. The cost of antibiotic treatment for these infections represents a significant part of hospital expenditure. This prospective observational study was designed to determine the daily antibiotic cost of nosocomial infections per...

The elderly population will grow rapidly over the next 25 years, however there is little information about hospital infections in this group of patients in Brazil. We examined the prevalence of nosocomial and community infections in elderly ((3) 65 years) patients and their relationship with intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors in a Brazilian University Hospital. A total of 155 hospitalized eld...

BACKGROUND Infections in critical care unit are high, and they are serious hospital problems. Infections acquired during the hospital stay are generally called nosocomial infections, initially known as infections arising after 48 h of hospital admission. The mostfrequent nosocomial infections (urinary, respiratory, gastroenteritis and blood stream infection) were common in patients at hospital....

Objectives: To assess the relationship between organisational and structural factors of UK neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with risk adjusted probable nosocomial bacteraemia. Design of study: A prospective observational study of infants concurrently admitted to 54 randomly selected UK NICUs between March 1998 and April 1999. Results: Of the 13 334 infants admitted, 402 (2.97%) had probabl...

BACKGROUND Patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are a significant subgroup of all hospitalized patients, accounting for about a quarter of all hospital infections. AIM The aim was to study, the current status of nosocomial infection, rate of infection and distribution of infection among patients admitted in Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) of a District Hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS D...