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Healthcare-Associated Infections definitions

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  • Healthcare-Associated Infection
    Acquired in hospitals or healthcare settings, these affect about 3% of patients and are among the top 10 causes of death in the USA.
  • Nosocomial Infection
    Another name for infections contracted in healthcare facilities, often used interchangeably with HAIs.
  • Opportunistic Pathogen
    Microbe that thrives in hospital environments and can cause disease when host defenses are compromised.
  • Normal Flora
    Microorganisms usually present in or on the body that can cause infection if introduced to sterile sites during procedures.
  • Invasive Procedure
    Medical intervention that creates new entry points for microbes, increasing infection risk if asepsis is not maintained.
  • Chain of Infection
    Sequence of events allowing a pathogen to spread, requiring interaction between microbe, environment, and susceptible host.
  • Aseptic Technique
    Set of practices aimed at preventing contamination and infection during medical procedures.
  • Infection Control Committee
    Multidisciplinary group in healthcare facilities responsible for developing and evaluating infection prevention policies.
  • Infection Control Practitioner
    Individual tasked with monitoring HAIs and implementing infection control policies on a daily basis in healthcare settings.
  • HICPAC
    Federal advisory group under the CDC that provides national guidelines for preventing and controlling HAIs.
  • Compromised Host
    Patient with weakened defenses, making them more susceptible to infections in healthcare environments.
  • Carrier
    Person, such as a healthcare worker, who can transmit pathogens to others without showing symptoms.
  • Disinfectant Resistance
    Ability of certain microbes to survive cleaning agents commonly used in hospitals, complicating infection control.
  • Morbidity
    Rate or presence of disease within a population, increased by HAIs in clinical settings.
  • Mortality
    Incidence of death, with HAIs ranking among the top causes in hospitalized patients.