PMID: 17149078
Issn Print: 1057-3631
Publication Date: 2007/01/01
The Joint Commission's Infection Control National Patient Safety Goal
Excerpt
EVERY YEAR, nearly 2 million Americans acquire infections in hospitals, and an estimated 90,000 die as a result, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).1 These largely preventable infections occur despite the efforts of well-intentioned healthcare professionals, advances in technology, and widely accepted standards of practice. Infections common to all settings include catheter-associated urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections (usually associated with intravascular devices), and pneumonia. Surgical-site infections are also a challenge for ambulatory care and acute care providers, while home-care and long-term care professionals often deal with skin and soft tissue infections.
The causes of healthcare-associated infections cannot be dismissed by simply attributing the problem to an increasing number of frail, elderly, or immunocompromised patients in healthcare organizations. Instead, healthcare professionals must look to evidence-based guidelines to prevent this significant threat to patients.
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