Quality and Safety in Health Care, Part XV

Infections that are associated with health care are a major problem that results in many deaths, suffering, and a great deal of extra monetary costs. Fortunately, there is much that can be done to prevent these infections. This article is a brief introduction to prevention of some of the common hospital acquired infections, such as surgical site infection, ventilator-associated pneumonia, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections.