Why nosocomial infections?
Nosocomial infections are more commonly known as hospital-acquired infections, and they are a serious issue for the health-care sector. Patients in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at particular risk for nosocomial infections for a number of reasons. First, many have tubes entering their bodies in several locations, each presenting a potential gateway for infection. Second, premature babies have immune systems that are both immature and inexperienced. In other words, not only are the body’s defence mechanisms still developing, they’re also learning what they need to defend against, and how. Dr. Andrew James describes a model for the progress of nosocomial infections this way: Phase zero: there is no infection Phase one: the infection is present, but there are currently no means of detecting it Phase two: the infection is present, as are some very soft, subtle, non-specific clinical signs of infection that could mean anything Phase three: the infection is present and the signs
