Healthcare-associated infection

An infection acquired while receiving care in a healthcare setting that was not present or incubating when care began. It can arise in hospitals, clinics, long-term-care facilities, and other care environments.

Infection prevention and control: Policies and practices that prevent infections from spreading in healthcare and community settings. This is the broad system used to interrupt transmission during care.
Healthcare-associated infection surveillance: The systematic collection and analysis of data on infections linked to healthcare. Surveillance detects patterns and measures whether prevention efforts are working.
Antimicrobial resistance: The ability of microorganisms to survive or grow despite exposure to medicines designed to kill or inhibit them. Healthcare transmission can spread resistant organisms, while infections often require antimicrobial treatment.
Community-acquired infection: An infection acquired outside healthcare settings and not attributable to healthcare exposure. Its presumed acquisition setting differs from that of healthcare-associated infection.
National Healthcare Safety Network: A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention system for tracking healthcare-associated infections and other safety data. Its case definitions shape standardized reporting in participating US facilities.
Contact transmission: The spread of pathogens through direct physical contact or contaminated surfaces and objects. Hands, equipment, and surfaces can carry pathogens between patients.
Standard precautions: Basic infection-prevention practices applied to all patients, regardless of suspected infection status. These practices reduce exposure to blood, body fluids, and infectious material.
Sepsis: A life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated response to infection. A healthcare-associated infection can progress to sepsis and organ damage.
Colonization: The presence and growth of microorganisms on or in a host without causing signs of infection. Detection of a pathogen does not establish that a healthcare-associated infection is present.
Attributable risk: The difference in disease risk between exposed and unexposed groups attributable to an exposure. Estimating the infections truly caused by care requires separating exposure effects from baseline risk.

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