An increase in the frequency of nosocomial infections is caused by a complex of reasons, the main of which are:
1. Creation of large multidisciplinary hospitals with a peculiar ecology, which is determined by: the large number of patients and constantly interacting medical personnel with them, constantly communicating with patients; the closedness of the nosocomial medium in which a number of opportunistic microorganism strains circulate, the so-called. free living.
2. Activation of the natural mechanisms of transmission of pathogens of infectious diseases, especially airborne droplets and contact household, in conditions of close communication of patients and staff in hospitals.
3. The presence of an artificial (artifical) mechanism of transmission of pathogens of infections associated with invasive interventions, medical and diagnostic procedures, and the use of medical equipment.
4. The presence of a constant large array of sources of causative agents of infections:
– patients admitted to the hospital with unrecognized infections;
– persons whose nosocomial infections are layered on the underlying disease in the hospital;
– medical personnel – carriers and patients with erased forms of infection.
5. The widespread, not always justified, use of antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes,
contributing to the formation of drug resistance of microorganisms.
6. The formation among many microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus golden and epidermal, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, etc.) of in-hospital strains characterized by multidrug resistance, high resistance to adverse environmental factors (ultraviolet radiation, drying, and action) disinfectants).
7. An increase in the number of the risk contingent – patients who were previously considered doomed, but currently nursed and cured by the achievements of modern medicine.
8. An increase in the proportion of very severe patients with immunodeficiency conditions in which the nonspecific resistance of the body is sharply reduced — the elderly population, premature newborns, and young children.
9. Widespread use for the diagnosis and treatment of complex equipment requiring special sterilization methods. The use of instrumental medical and diagnostic methods often leads to trauma to the mucous membranes and skin, and the formation of an “entrance gate” for infection pathogens.
10. Low level of sanitary literacy of medical personnel and patients, violation of the rules of asepsis, antiseptics, personal hygiene and disinfection regimen.
11. Inadequate material support of medical institutions.
12. Low methodological level of microbiological research carried out in medical institutions.