UNDERSTANDING HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES

Abstract

According to the WHO Regional Office for Europe, an infection that is detected after a patient is admitted to a hospital or consults a doctor, or that occurs during the time the patient is working in this institution, is called a nosocomial infection. Today, preventing the spread of nosocomial infection in the world is an urgent problem in health care from a medical, social and economic point of view. According to WHO, over the past 10 years, there has been a slight increase in the number of nosocomial infections. In some cases, a nosocomial infection can even cause death, and in other cases, it prolongs the patient's stay in the hospital and significantly increases the cost of treatment. According to scientists, patients infected with nosocomial infection account for 10% of the number of patients treated in the hospital during the year, and about 2% of these patients die. The cost of treating such patients is 10 million dollars.