Hospital acquired infections, called nosocomial infections, are responsible for at least 100,000 American deaths each year. Savvy, empowered patients understand what these infections are, how they get started, what patients they attack, and how to prevent hospital infections.
Here is a master list of articles on the About.com Patient Empowerment website that provides that background knowledge for patients, caregivers and advocates:
An Overview of Hospital Acquired Infections
This overview of hospital acquired (nosocomial) infections provides the basics, helps you understand the importance of this basic knowledge, helps you better understand the term "superbugs," and provides additional resources for those who want to fight hospital infections.
How to Prevent Hospital Acquired Infections
Even if you don't have time to learn about all the infections individually, spend some time learning how to prevent them. The life you save may be your own.
Included in prevention steps is:
- How to Choose the Best Hospital
- Why You Need a Personal Advocate in the Hospital
- How the Calendar and Time of Day May Cause More Hospital Infections
Why Medicare and Insurance Will No Longer Pay for Most Nosocomial Infections
They won't pay for them because most of them are preventable. Learn more about the rules, the supporting reasons, and the potential problems this may cause for patients.
Hospital infections are not included on the National Quality Forum's List of Never Events - but they should be.
Learn More About the Individual Infections Patients Acquire
Each individual pathogen can wreak havoc, and may cause death:
- What Is a MRSA Infection and What Does MRSA Look Like?
- C.Difficile, Another Hospital Acquired Infection to Avoid
- CRKP Superbug Found in Hospitals, Killing Patients
- Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE)
- Necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating bacterial disease
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Sepsis or Septicemia
- Central Line Infections - these are not an infectious agent, rather they are the mode of entry for infectious agents
Hospital Acquired Infection Terminology
Link to these definitions to help you better understand nosocomial infections:
Headlines Focusing on Hospital Acquired Infections and Patient Safety
Additional Articles of Interest
- Alicia Cole, Actor - Creating a Legacy After Her Hospital Infection Experience
- MRSA Staph Infection Photos - What Does MRSA Look Like?
- How to Visit Someone in the Hospital (because you can infect them if you aren't careful)
- Have you been infected during a hospital stay? (read other patients' stories and share your own, too)
