Open Access<p>Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections: A Narrative Overview</p>
Author(s) -
Mainul Haque,
Judy McKimm,
Massimo Sartelli,
Swati Dhingra,
Francesco M. Labricciosa,
Salequl Islam,
Dilshad Jahan,
Tanziusrat,
Tajkera Sultana Chowdhury,
Federico Coccolini,
Katia Iskandar,
Federico Coccolini,
Jaykaran Charan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
risk management and healthcare policy
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.828
H-Index - 22
ISSN - 1179-1594
DOI - 10.2147/rmhp.s269315
Subject(s) - medicine , hygiene , antimicrobial stewardship , health care , intensive care medicine , infection control , stewardship (theology) , transmission (telecommunications) , antibiotic resistance , environmental health , antibiotics , economic growth , political science , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , pathology , politics , law , economics , electrical engineering , engineering
Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are a major source of morbidity and mortality and are the second most prevalent cause of death. Furthermore, it has been reported that for every one-hundred patients admitted to hospital, seven patients in high-income economies and ten in emerging and low-income economies acquire at least one type of HCAI. Currently, almost all pathogenic microorganisms have developed antimicrobial resistance, and few new antimicrobials are being developed and brought to market. The literature search for this narrative review was performed by searching bibliographic databases (including Google Scholar and PubMed) using the search terms: "Strategies," "Prevention," and "Healthcare-Associated Infections," followed by snowballing references cited by critical articles. We found that although hand hygiene is a centuries-old concept, it is still the primary strategy used around the world to prevent HCAIs. It forms one of a bundle of approaches used to clean and maintain a safe hospital environment and to stop the transmission of contagious and infectious microorganisms, including multidrug-resistant microbes. Finally, antibiotic stewardship also has a crucial role in reducing the impact of HCAIs through conserving currently available antimicrobials.