[Nosocomial infections in premature infants, where are we going?]

Abstract

Nosocomial infections, also known as hospital-acquired infections, continue to be a major global public health concern. They are associated with increases in mortality, long-term morbidity, length of hospitalization and health care costs. Premature infants are particularly susceptible to nosocomial infections and constitute a higher patient burden compared with other populations in both lowand high-resource settings. Limited-resource countries participating in the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium reported rates of nosocomial infection in premature infants that were 10--20 times higher compared to those reported by neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the United States to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In low-resource settings, nosocomial infections are most often linked to poor hygiene practices, delayed identification of infection and the scarcity of antibiotics. In high-income countries, prolonged use of life sutain central lines in life support and the emergence of multidrug resistant strains due to extensive use of broad-spectrum antibiotics have been identified as major risk factors. Neonatal intensive care units continue to take steps aimed at preventing nosocomial infection outbreaks, especially central line-associated bloodstream infections