title: Health care-associated infections in the neonatal intensive care unit: barriers to continued success.
abstract: Health care-associated infections often result in significant morbidity and mortality to affected patients and substantial financial cost to an overburdened health care system. Local, statewide, and national efforts have been conducted to eradicate central line-associated infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and urinary tract infections from inpatient and outpatient facilities. In the neonatal intensive care unit population, significant improvements have been made in many areas, but have been hindered in others by a lack of population-specific definitions, data, and guidelines for prevention and management. Therefore, more concerted efforts are needed in these areas for continued progress to occur.
authors.affiliation: Division of Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8064, USA. matthew.bizzarro@yale.edu
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bizzarro
mesh_terms: D055499:Catheter-Related Infections / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology; D058996:Quality Improvement; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology