The role of the nurse in the prevention of nosocomial infection

Abstract

The increase in the incidence of nosocomial infections (NOS) is due to a number of reasons: demographic changes in society, primarily an increase in the proportion of elderly people, an increase in the number of people belonging to high-risk groups (patients with chronic diseases, intoxications or taking immunosuppressants); the formation and widespread dissemination of nosocomial strains of opportunistic microorganisms resistant to antibiotics, characterized by higher virulence and increased resistance to environmental factors, including disinfectants; irrational administration of antimicrobial chemotherapy and lack of control over the circulation of drug-resistant strains; a significant frequency of carriage of pathogenic microflora (for example, Staphylococcus aureus) among medical personnel (up to 40%); frequent use of therapeutic agents that suppress the immune system; the introduction of more complex surgical interventions into healthcare practice, the widespread use of instrumental diagnostic and treatment methods; the creation of large hospital complexes with their own specific ecology - overcrowding in hospitals and clinics; characteristics of the main contingent (mainly weakened patients with immunodeficiency); violation of the rules of asepsis and antisepsis, deviation from sanitary and hygienic standards for hospitals and clinics.