Hospital Infections

It is related to infections acquired in hospital as well as in any other health institution. Currently the term “Hospital Infection” is obsolete and has been replaced by the expression “Health Care Related Infections” (IRAS), as there are several health care institutions that are not classified as hospitals, but are constantly challenged by infectious complications.

These IRAS are usually more complex from the point of view of diagnosis and treatment when compared to community-acquired infections and, consequently, result in a substantial increase in care costs. These patients tend to have underlying diseases and/or other characteristics that compromise their immune status making them susceptible to infections by opportunistic bacteria. However, the main problem of IRAS is its association with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, making this even more relevant when the so-called multi-resistant “hospital” bacteria spread in the same institution or between different institutions, or even reaching the community. Thus, SBM’s “Hospital Infection/Infection Related to Health Care” area covers studies on the identification, resistance assessment, epidemiology, and treatment of IRAS-related bacteria.