Health care-associated infections are infections that patients acquire during the time of treatment for other conditions within a health care facility. Here you find infection-specific interventions to help prevent and reduce occurrence of such infections.
Common health care-associated infections are:
- Surgical site infection (SSI)
- Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)
- Central line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI)
- Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI)
Additional important infections include gastrointestinal infections and blood-borne infections. Health care-associated infections are often caused by resistant bacteria, are hard to treat, and lead to prolonged hospital stay and high mortality. It is very important to prevent these infections to save lives, reduce antibiotic use and thus limit the antibiotic pressure leading to the development and spread of antibiotic resistance.
The below selected resources describes how to prevent these infections (separated into different tables). In addition, many countries have their own guidelines that are adapted to the local circumstances. For additional information and resources to help determine the impact of interventions, go to MEASURE.
See also: Basic interventions and Pathogen specific interventions
Selected Resources
Surgical site infections (SSI)
Resource | Description |
Global guidelines on the prevention of surgical site infection, 2nd edition | Guideline. Guidelines on the prevention of surgical site infections published by WHO. Valid for any country and suitable to local adaptations, and takes account of the strength of available scientific evidence, the cost and resource implications, and patient values and preferences. |
The ISID Guide to Infection Control in the Healthcare setting | Guide that summarizes principles, interventions, and strategies to reduce healthcare associated infections. Contains more than 50 short chapters on a variety of topics including antibiotic resistance. See for example chapter: The Operating Room with facts and suggested practices to avoid surgical site infections. The guide is also available in Spanish. |
Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Prevention Guideline | Guideline. Evidence-based guideline for prevention of surgical site infections from CDC. |
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)
Resource | Description |
International ERS/ESICM/ESCMID/ALAT guidelines for the management of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia | Example guidelines giving recommendations for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of HAP/VAP. By a panel of experts for the European Respiratory Society (ERS), European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), and Asociación Latinoamericana del Tórax (ALAT). |
The ISID Guide to Infection Control in the Healthcare setting | Guide that summarizes principles, interventions, and strategies to reduce healthcare associated infections. Contains more than 50 short chapters on a variety of topics including antibiotic resistance. See for example chapters on Pneumonia and Mechanical ventilation. The guide is also available in Spanish. |
Central line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI)
Resource | Description |
CLABSI – Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infections | Information portal. CDC’s toolkit for the prevention of central line-associated blood stream infection. |
The ISID Guide to Infection Control in the Healthcare setting | Guide that summarizes principles, interventions, and strategies to reduce healthcare associated infections. Contains more than 50 short chapters on a variety of topics including antibiotic resistance. See for example chapter on Bloodstream infections with suggested practices (also considering under-resourced settings). The guide is also available in Spanish. |
Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI)
Resource | Description |
CAUTI – Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infection | Information portal. CDC’s toolkit for the prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infection. |
The ISID Guide to Infection Control in the Healthcare setting | Guide that summarizes principles, interventions, and strategies to reduce healthcare associated infections. Contains more than 50 short chapters on a variety of topics including antibiotic resistance. See for example chapter on Hospital-Acquired Urinary Tract Infection. The guide is also available in Spanish. |
More from "Interventions"
- Basic
- Infection specific
- Pathogen specific