| Abstract: |
In their 2007 guideline for isolation precautions, the United States Health Care Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) defines hospital-associated infections (HAIs) as infections acquired in any setting in which the delivery of healthcare occurs, including, but not limited to, hospitals (referred to as nosocomial infections) and nonacute-care settings, such as longterm care or ambulatory-care facilities and home care (1). This definition reflects the current trend of patients receiving care in a variety of environments, even for procedures, such as stem-cell transplants, which have traditionally taken place in an inpatient environment (2, 3). In addition, an infection can be defined as an HAI if the infection was not present or incubating at admission, and if the patient was admitted for reasons other than the infection (4). For example, infections that develop either within 48 to 72 hours after admission or within 10 days of discharge from a healthcare facility are classified as HAIs (4). © 2016 American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC. |
