The definition of hospital-acquired infection incorrectly states:
A hospital-acquired infection is a condition in which a patient is infected with a pathogen that was not originally present in his or her body during the course of medical treatment in a healthcare facility and develops the appropriate clinical manifestations. However, inconsistent with this definition, hospital-acquired infections are not limited to occurrences within healthcare facilities, but can also occur in community settings.
The following section will analyze the problem of defining hospital-acquired infections and further discuss their causes and preventive measures.
First of all, according to the definition of the International Health Organization, hospital-acquired infections are supposed to be infections caused by pathogens contracted by patients during hospitalization. However, due to the rapid development and diversity of modern medical technology, patients may receive different types of medical care outside of a healthcare facility that can lead to infections.
For example, different places such as day surgery centers, rehabilitation centers, and home health care services are at risk of medical manipulation and pathogen transmission, and thus the scope of hospital-acquired infections should be extended beyond health care facilities.
Second, hospital-acquired infections are not limited to infections caused by pathogens contracted by patients during hospitalization. In fact, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers can also contract pathogens and spread them to other patients or workers. This is known as a health care-associated infection and is a form of hospital-acquired infection. Therefore, when defining hospital-acquired infections, both patient and health care worker infections should be taken into account.
Hospital-acquired infections arise mainly due to a combination of factors. First, healthcare organizations are high-risk places for pathogen transmission, and close contact between patients and between doctors and patients is the main route.
Secondly, medical equipment, drugs, and reused items used in healthcare operations, such as catheters and tracheal tubes, may be contaminated and serve as vectors for pathogen transmission. In addition, improper hand hygiene and disinfection practices, as well as mismanagement of the hygienic environment, can lead to the development of hospital-acquired infections.
Preventive measures against hospital-acquired infections mainly include the following aspects. First, the professional training of medical personnel should be strengthened, especially in hand hygiene and infection control. Secondly, the norms of medical operation should be strictly enforced and the cleanliness and sterilization of medical equipment should be regularly checked. In addition, an effective infection monitoring and reporting system should be established to detect and deal with infection outbreaks in a timely manner. In addition, health education for patients and families and improvement of the hospital environment are also important means of preventing hospital-acquired infections.
In summary, the definition of hospital-acquired infections incorrectly states that hospital-acquired infections are limited to infections caused by pathogens contracted by patients during their stay in a healthcare facility. In fact, hospital-acquired infections can occur outside of a healthcare facility, and healthcare workers can themselves become infected with pathogens. Hospital-acquired infections are associated with a variety of factors both inside and outside of the healthcare organization, so preventing hospital-acquired infections requires a combination of factors and measures.