An overview of nosocomial bacterial infections: epidemiology, control, and antibiotic resistance

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESNosocomial infections or healthcare-associated infections occur in patients under medical care. Frequently prevalent infections include central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, surgical site infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Nosocomial infections can be managed by practicing infection control programs. This study aims to provide a detailed review of literary studies to discover the outbreak of nosocomial infections and antibiotic resistance especially in Middle Eastern countries.MATERIALS AND METHODSStudies related to diverse facets of nosocomial infections and bacterial resistance that were published from ۲۰۰۰ to ۲۰۲۳ were sought by conducting comprehensive searches in databases like PubMed, Medline, Medscape, Cochran Library, WHO, CDC, Scopus, Osmosis of Elsevier, and Google Scholar. In order to obtain information on nosocomial infections and pathogens, a keyword search was carried out encompassing terms of Nosocomial Infections, Antibiotics, Antibiotic Resistance, Healthcare, Pathogens, and Infection-Control Strategies. Upon completion of this search process, out of the total of ۲۰۵ retrieved studies through these keywords, ۴۰ were considered relevant for further review.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONNosocomial infections and antibiotic resistance were considered to become emerging problems in Middle Eastern countries, causing serious mortality and morbidity. In this regard, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species among gram-negative bacteria, and Staphylococcus aureus among gram-positive bacteria were stated as the most observed pathogens activated in nosocomial infections. In addition, multi-drug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are critical priority pathogens that cause nosocomial infections. High antibiotic resistance among hospital pathogens is reported to be one of the most important challenges so they are commonly resistant to the most important classes of antibiotics including penicillin, cephalosporins, carbapenems, and fluoroquinolones antibiotics.CONCLUSIONIn order to control nosocomial infections, government officials are recommended to ensure that hospitals follow standard nosocomial infection control strategies and guidelines.