Article
Article
Nosocomial disease
Article By:
Pierce, Marcia M. Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky.
Last reviewed:February 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.456850
Show previous versions
- Hospital infections, published June 2014:Download PDF
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
A disease or infection acquired in a hospital or other health-care facility. Nosocomial diseases are pathological disorders that occur in patients during the course of a hospital stay. They also can occur in other health-care facilities, such as a clinic in which a patient becomes exposed to an infectious agent. Therefore, nosocomial diseases are often known as health-care-associated infections (HAIs). The process of transfer of pathogens (Fig. 1) to susceptible patients can occur through accidental contamination from a health-care worker, a contaminated environment, or some other source. See also: Disease; Infection; Opportunistic infections; Pathogen
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
