Question

Explain why a healthcare associated infection may have a higher mortality rate. What techniques do healthcare workers use to protect themselves and patients from infection?

Answer 1

Most of the healthcare associated infections are caused due to bacteria. Since antibiotics are frequently used within hospitals, the likelihood of the generation and spread of antibiotic resistance among bacterial populations is higher. Some of these may even gain resistance to multiple antibiotics, leading to multi-drug resistance. A good example of this happening is the origin of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) strains with known origins in hospital settings. When a healthcare worker or patient contracts a nosocomial infection from a healthcare setting, it is very likely that the disease-causing agent is a drug-resistant pathogen, which makes treatment and recovery much harder. Since some patients may have other underlying health conditions, the additional stress of having to deal with drug resistant pathogens may be too much for their immune systems, and may lead to systemic infection. Some of these patients may die, translating to a higher than normal mortality rate to otherwise treatable infections.

The simplest and easiest way in which healthcare workers keep themselves and patients safe from these infections is through the practice of proper handwashing hygiene and the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks and gloves which can help limit the spread of pathogens. Since hospital surfaces encounter multiple people and objects, these surfaces have to be regularly disinfected and kept clean to minimize the spread of infections. Infectious patients can be appropriately isolated and treated while donning the necessary PPEs so that others are not put at risk unnecessarily.

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