Cross Infection
Cross Infection
Definition
Cross infection is the physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object, or place to another, or from one part of the body to another (such as touching a staph-infected hand to the eye). When this cross infection occurs in a hospital or long-term care facility it is called a nosocomial infection. Community acquired infections are those contracted anywhere except a hospital or long-term care facility.
Description
Cross infection accounts for half of all major complications of hospitalization; the rest are medication errors, patient falls, and other noninfectious events. In American hospitals, cross infection affects between 50% of patients at a cost in excess of $4.5 billion. Further, with the advent of HMOs and incentives for out- patient care, hospitals now have a concentrated population of seriously ill patients, and an even greater risk of cross infection.
On one hand, trends toward same-day surgery, shorter hospital stays, and less-invasive surgical techniques will limit patients' exposure to hospital pathogens and invasive devices. On the other, long-term inpatients are likely to be older and sicker, requiring the use of invasive devices in treatment or management of their illness. This places them at increased risk of cross infection, a risk that is higher for public and larger hospitals and teaching institutions.
Statistics show that about 35 million patients are admitted to 7,000 acute-care institutions in the United States each year. This means that 1.75 million to 3.5 million patients are infected yearly in the United States. If 10% of all cross infections involve the bloodstream, then 175,000 to 350,000 patients acquire these life-threatening septicemic infections each year.
Causes and symptoms
Cross infections are caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that may already be present in the patient's body, or they may come from the environment, contaminated hospital equipment, health care
Definition
Cross infection is the physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object, or place to another, or from one part of the body to another (such as touching a staph-infected hand to the eye). When this cross infection occurs in a hospital or long-term care facility it is called a nosocomial infection. Community acquired infections are those contracted anywhere except a hospital or long-term care facility.
Description
Cross infection accounts for half of all major complications of hospitalization; the rest are medication errors, patient falls, and other noninfectious events. In American hospitals, cross infection affects between 50% of patients at a cost in excess of $4.5 billion. Further, with the advent of HMOs and incentives for out- patient care, hospitals now have a concentrated population of seriously ill patients, and an even greater risk of cross infection.
On one hand, trends toward same-day surgery, shorter hospital stays, and less-invasive surgical techniques will limit patients' exposure to hospital pathogens and invasive devices. On the other, long-term inpatients are likely to be older and sicker, requiring the use of invasive devices in treatment or management of their illness. This places them at increased risk of cross infection, a risk that is higher for public and larger hospitals and teaching institutions.
Statistics show that about 35 million patients are admitted to 7,000 acute-care institutions in the United States each year. This means that 1.75 million to 3.5 million patients are infected yearly in the United States. If 10% of all cross infections involve the bloodstream, then 175,000 to 350,000 patients acquire these life-threatening septicemic infections each year.
Causes and symptoms
Cross infections are caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that may already be present in the patient's body, or they may come from the environment, contaminated hospital equipment, health care