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PMID: 8269394 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

An overview of nosocomial infections, including the role of the microbiology laboratory.

Clinical microbiology reviews ·Vol. 6 ·No. 4 ·1993-10-00 ·Pages 428-42

Emori TG, Gaynes RP

Abstract

An estimated 2 million patients develop nosocomial infections in the United States annually. The increasing number of antimicrobial agent-resistant pathogens and high-risk patients in hospitals are challenges to progress in preventing and controlling these infections. While Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus remain the most common pathogens isolated overall from nosocomial infections, coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), organisms previously considered contaminants in most cultures, are now the predominant pathogens in bloodstream infections. The growing number of antimicrobial agent-resistant organisms is troublesome, particularly vancomycin-resistant CoNS and Enterococcus spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistant to imipenem. The active involvement and cooperation of the microbiology laboratory are important to the infection control program, particularly in surveillance and the use of laboratory services for epidemiologic purposes. Surveillance is used to identify possible infection problems, monitor infection trends, and assess the quality of care in the hospital. It requires high-quality laboratory data that are timely and easily accessible.

MeSH Terms
Bacterial Infections/drug therapy,epidemiology,prevention & control,transmission Cross Infection/epidemiology,microbiology,prevention & control Drug Resistance, Microbial Humans Infection Control/methods Laboratories, Hospital Microbiology United States/epidemiology
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Emori T G
Hospital Infections Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
Gaynes R P
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Article Info
Journal
Clinical microbiology reviews
Abbr.
Clin Microbiol Rev
ISSN
0893-8512
DOI
10.1128/CMR.6.4.428
Published
1993-10-00
Pages
428-42
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
8807282
PMCID
PMC358296
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/CMR.6.4.428 PMC Full Text View journal details
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