Health care-associated and hospital-acquired infections are two entities associated with increased morbidity and mortality. They are highly costly and constitute a great burden to the health care system. Vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/ml) is prevalent and may be a key contributor to both acute and chronic ill health. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with decreased innate immunity and increased...

Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for more than 2% of cases of community-acquired pneumonia and 10% of cases of nosocomial-acquired pneumonia. The lethality rate of such infections ranges from 30% to 80% (6). These infections are complicated by the fact that these bacteria have acquired diverse genetic information that makes them resistant to most antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus...

Nosocomial infections are a major concern for both patients and clinicians. Hospital related infections cause significant mortality (20%) *1+ and morbidity and, in the majority of cases, are preventable. In addition to the human cost, the emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms has made management of hospital acquired infections more complex and expensive. The National Health Foundation is ...

BACKGROUND Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has traditionally been associated with infections in hospitals. Recently, a new strain of MRSA has emerged and rapidly spread in the community, causing serious infections among young, healthy individuals. Preliminary reports imply that a particular clone (USA300) of a community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) strain is infiltrating hospitals...

BACKGROUND Alcohol sanitizers have not been demonstrated to reduce hospital-acquired infections over handwashing alone in controlled, well-designed clinical studies. A major reason for this may be the failure of traditional alcohol sanitizers to provide any residual, or persistent, activity. Any lapse in hand hygiene protocol then leaves patients and staff open to transmitting pathogens. The pu...

“The health care system as a whole has spent a lot of time and energy studying hospital acquired bloodstream infections and has made serious progress in reducing their burden as a result. It is now time that we did the same for central line infections acquired outside the hospital,”says lead investigator Michael Rinke, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatrician and safety expert at Johns Hopkins Children’s Ce...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among Enterobacteriaceae is increasing worldwide. Identification of pathogens and their resistance to antimicrobials is mandatory for successful empiric antibiotic treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from hospital-acquired and community-acquired infecti...

Hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia is a common and serious complication of modern medical care. Many aspects of such infections remain unclear, including the mechanisms by which invading pathogens resist clearance by the innate immune response and the tendency of the infections to be polymicrobial. Here, we used a mouse model of infection to show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a leading cause ...

Background: Recently the role of platelets in the tissue regeneration, wound healing and prevention and control of infections has been reported. We aimed to assess the antimicrobial effect of human platelet concentrate against six bacteria, commonly found in wound and hospital-acquired infections. Methods: In vitro susceptibility to samples of 10 random human platelet concentrates was determin...

BACKGROUND In order to reduce protein-energy malnutrition in older people during hospitalisation an early interdisciplinary intervention is needed. We developed a protocol which includes screening for malnutrition, dysphagia and dehydration on admission, followed by immediate interventions. OBJECTIVE To assess effectiveness of the protocol on nutritional status, hospital-acquired infections a...