A hospital-acquired infection, also known as a HAI or in medical literature as a nosocomial infection, is an infection that develops in a patient during hospitalization. It is usually defined as an infection that is identified at least forty-eight to seventy-two hours following admission, so infections incubating, but not clinically apparent, at admission are excluded. With recent changes in health care delivery, the concept of “nosocomial infections” has sometimes been expanded to include other “health care–associated infections,” including infections acquired in institutions other than acute-care facilities (e.g. nursing homes); infections acquired during hospitalization but not identified until after discharge; and infections acquired through outpatient care such as day surgery, dialysis, or home parenteral therapy.
NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS A hospital-acquired infection, also known as a HAI or in medical literature as a nosocomial infection, is an infection that develops in a patient during hospitalization. It is usually defined as an infection that is identified at least forty-eight to seventy-two hours following admission, so infections incubating, but