Prevention and Treatment of Healthcare-Associated Infections

Dear Colleagues,

Out of every 100 hospitalized patients, around seven patients in high-income countries and around ten in low-income countries acquire a healthcare-associated infection (HCAI). Among critically ill patients, a HCAI may affect 10 to 40% of all ICU patients. The enormous heterogeneity of the incidence rates shows that most HCAIs are avoidable and that adequate prevention strategies would significantly lower the incidence.

Unfortunately, HCAIs receive less public and political attention than they deserve, and social media generally only pays attention to the topic when epidemics or outbreaks occur. Moreover, the rising incidence of multi-resistance among bacteria and fungi increases the likelihood of inadequate antimicrobial selection, which worsens outcomes and/or leads to the overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which stimulates a greater antibiotics resistance spiral.

This Special Issue aims to gather up-to-date research and knowledge on the best strategies for HCAI prevention, early diagnosis and cutting-edge therapy, in an era of antimicrobial resistance.

Dr. José-Artur Paiva
Guest Editor

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• risk analysis and triage
• epidemiological surveillance
• bundle-approach and behavior interventions
• fast microbiological diagnosis
• clostridioides difficille
• carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales
• multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas
• methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
• candida auris
• best use of new antibiotics