Nosocomial infections in the NICU

Abstract

Nosocomial infections, or hospital acquired infections, are specific infections that patients obtain during their stay at hospital. Many factors contribute to their development, but rising antibiotic resistance in the last decades makes them more of a concern. Many microorganisms can be found within the hospital wards and they vary in pathomechanism and etiology, but all have in common the factor of being able to complicate the hospital stay of their hosts. Hand hygiene plays a big role in spreading these infections, and the treatment approach is a delicate matter. Not all the wards in the hospital see the same trends in nosocomial infections. In many cases, the NICU experiences similar problems as other intensive care units, yet since the patient population is different the problems often have a different angle.