What is new in infection prevention in critical care in 2014?

Excerpt

Intensive care unit (ICU) patients reflect a population which (a) usually is characterized by significant comorbidities and underlying immunodeficiency, (b) experience immune paralysis caused by acute and severe disease, and (c) require invasive devices such as intubation and intravascular devices that bypass the defenses of the host. These “characteristics” render such patients prone to nosocomial infections and underline the utilization of antibiotic treatment that consequently increases selection pressures for antibiotic-resistant pathogens and amplifies the risk of cross-transmission with such pathogens, resulting in a vicious circle of reinfection. Consequently, the vulnerability of these patients during hospitalization mandates that effective infection control practices be employed to break this circle. Such practices must be focused on the proper use and overall reduction in the use of invasive devices, the direct prevention of infections, and the decrease of the occurrence of cross-transmission. …