In the care of patients, the prevention of nosocomial infections is crucial. For it to be successful, cross-sectoral, interface-oriented hygiene quality management is necessary. The goal is to apply the HACCP (Hazard Assessment and Critical Control Points) concept to hospital hygiene, in order to create a multi-dimensional hygiene control system based on hygiene indicators that will overcome th...

BACKGROUND We observed previously that newborn infants are colonized with Staphylococcus aureus, even if their mothers do not carry S aureus. This observation indicated a cross colonization, and, thus, a risk for nosocomial infection, although the infants are roomed in with their mothers. METHODS The S aureus colonization of infants, their parents, and staff members was measured at 3 maternit...

A cross-sectional hospital-based study of 259 children aged < 5 years was carried out in Tikrit, Iraq, to identify the prevalence of nosocomial diarrhoea and sources of contamination in the ward environment. Nosocomial diarrhoea was diagnosed in 84 children (32.4%). Children with diarrhoea were more likely than unaffected children to be bottle-fed, given unboiled water, to have unclean food con...

Multiple antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus is one of the common causes of severe nosocomial infections, and the gastrointestinal tract is an important source of its transmission. This study assessed the previous usage of antibiotics by healthy adults (university students and villagers) in Amassoma, Nigeria, and investigated the antimicrobial resistance patterns of their intestinal S. a...

BACKGROUND Hospitals and infection prevention specialists have attempted to achieve high levels of compliance with hand hygiene protocols for many decades. Despite these efforts, measured performance is disappointingly low. METHODS The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare convened teams of experts in performance improvement and infectious disease from eight hospitals for its ha...

Maintenance of airway secretion clearance, or airway hygiene, is important for the preservation of airway patency and the prevention of respiratory tract infection. Impaired airway clearance often prompts admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and can be a cause and/or contributor to acute respiratory failure. Physical methods to augment airway clearance are often used in the ICU but few ar...