Introduction: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) are known to be one of the most important health issues in developed and developing countries. The most common infections include central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia and surgical site infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of nosocomial infections in the elderly patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1279 patients were 60 years of age or older. Patients who had been admitted for more than 48 hours in the hospital and had no signs of infection at the time of admission, were entered into the study. It was evaluated four most common HAI, according to CDC include bacteremia, central line-associated blood stream infections, urinary tract infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Infections may also occur at surgery sites, known as surgical site infections. The Chisquare and T-test or analysis of variance was used for data analysis. Results: Of the total patients, 93 (7. 3%) developed HAI at duration admission. The highest rate of infection was bacteremia, which was 48. 4 % and then urinary tract infection 21. 5%. The prevalence of HAI among patients with cardiovascular diseases was relatively higher than underlying diseases. The frequency of length of hospital stay was significant in patients > 7 days with 68. 8% in the HAI group. Conclusion: Our findings showed that patients with cardiovascular, renal and pulmonary disease are more susceptible to HAIs. Due to the increased length of hospital stay increases the risk of infection, it is recommended to discharge patients as soon as possible.

Background: Healthcare-associated bloodstream infections (HCA-BSI) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).Objectives: We aimed to determine the causative organisms and risk factors of HCA-BSIs in NICUs.Methods: This study was performed between January 2011 and December 2014 in the neonatal intensive care unit of Dicle university, Turkey. The study consisted of 126 patients (infected group) with positive blood culture and 126 randomly selected patients (uninfected control group) with negative blood culture after four days of hospitalization.Results: We found that the most common causative agents isolated from nosocomial infections (NIs) were 20.7% Staphylococcus epidermidis, 26.7% Klebsiella spp., and 13.3% Acinetobacter spp. Incidences of low gestational age, low birth weight, vaginal birth type, and long length of hospitalization were higher in the infected neonates than in the uninfected neonates. In the univariate analysis, surgical operation, ventriculoperitoneal shunt, use of umbilical catheter, nasogastric or orogastric tube, urinary catheter, mechanical ventilation, surfactant treatment, erythrocyte transfusion, plasma transfusion, thrombocyte transfusion, total parenteral nutrition infusion, intracranial hemorrhage, length of hospital stay, fifth-minute Apgar score, and total parenteral nutrition time were significantly associated with NIs. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, fifth-minute Apgar, use of erythrocyte transfusion and surgical operation were found as the independent risk factors for HCA-BSI.Conclusions: This study determined the causative organisms and risk factors of HCA-BSIs in NICUs.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients significantly complicate the normal hospitalization process and affect patients’ condition, length of hospitalization, mortality, and treatment cost. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and economic burden of HAIs. Methods: The study involved all patients with a confirmed HAIs (based on CDC/NHSN case-definitions); in the general ICU of a tertiary university hospital in Tehran, from April 2020 to March 2021. The patients’ information, including length of hospitalization, outcome, type and cost of prescribed antibiotics, were recorded. Results: During the study period, 119 HAIs were found in 1395 (43% F / 57% M) patients. The prevalence of nosocomial infections was 8.53%. The mean duration of hospitalization in all ICU patients was 4.7 ± 3.1 days, and 31.85 ± 18.96 days in patients with HAIs. The most common organisms involved in HAIs are Acinetobacter baumannii (54.6%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (30.3%), E. coli (15.1%), and Enterococcus spp. (12%). Incidence density of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLA-BSI), and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CA-UTI) per 1000 device-days were 36.08, 17.57, and 8.86, respectively. The total cost of antibiotics for HAIs was € 105,407. Among these, the highest consumption costs were for carbapenems, followed by colistin and caspofungin. Conclusion: This study showed the high burden of nosocomial infections in ICUs. Strategies for more strict infection prevention and control are necessary to reduce this burden.

Background: Although preventable, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) continue to pose huge health and economic burdens on countries worldwide. Some studies have indicated the numerous causes of HAIs, but only a tiny literature exists on the multifaceted measures that can be used to address the problem. This paper presents stakeholders’ opinions on measures for controlling HAIs in Iran.Methods: We used the qualitative research method in studying the phenomenon. Through a purposive sampling approach, we conducted 24 face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Participants were mainly key informants, including policy-makers, health professionals, and technical officers across the national and sub-national levels, including the Ministry of Health (MoH), medical universities, and hospitals in Iran. We performed thematic framework analysis using the software MAXQDA10.Results: Four main interdisciplinary themes emerged from our study of measures of controlling HAIs: strengthening governance and stewardship; strengthening human resources policies; appropriate prescription and usage of antibiotics; and environmental sanitation and personal hygiene.Conclusion: According to our findings, elimination of HAIs demands multifactorial interventions. While the ultimate recommendation of policy-makers is to have HAIs among the priorities of the national agenda, financial commitment and the creation of an enabling work environment in which both patients and healthcare workers can practice personal hygiene could lead to a significant reduction in HAIs in Iran.