Essays on Bacteremia

Introduction

Bacterial meningitis is an infection that affects the meninges, the cerebrospinal fluid and the spinal cord that causes death and disability in a number of people worldwide. This is a highly contagious airborne disease that is spread through the transmission of three organisms present in the respiratory secretions: Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The onset or origins of the disease varies among different age groups and geographic locations. According to estimates, 200,000 people die annually of meningitis. Case fatality rates vary with age at time of illness and also depend on the particular bacterial strain causing the infection ( ...

Introduction

Neutrophils are produced from hematopoietic cells. Before these hematopoietic cells mature into fully functional neutrophils and enter the blood stream, they migrate through three cellular compartments, namely, the mitotic compartment, post-mitotic compartment and the storage compartment. Neutropenia is a condition characterized by decrease in the neutrophil count. Neutrophils are essential for fighting infections in the body. Common causes of neutropenia are chemotherapy, autoimmune disorders, drug reactions and genetic reasons. Absolute blood neutrophil count (ANC) in mild neutropenia is between 1.0 and 1.5 109/L. In severe neutropenia, the ANC is less than 0.5 109/L. Neutropenia can either be inherited or acquired. ( ...

Introduction to MRSA

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterial strain of S. aureus that that has developed a resistance to certain types of antibiotics, including methicillin, penicillin, oxacillin, and amoxicillin (Farley 2008). The types of infections differ according to whether the MRSA infection was acquired in the hospital setting (HA-MRSA) or whether it was a community acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) infection. The most severe MRSA infections are those acquired in health care facilities and include infections of the bloodstream or surgical wounds, and pneumonia. MRSA bacteremia is often fatal, thus timely and aggressive intervention is critical in patients at high risk of death; for example, ...

Handwashing is the gold standard for the prevention of health care-associated infections (HCAI), yet the rate of handwashing compliance is universally low. This study reviews the role of hands in the transmission of HCAI, factors affecting compliance, and suggested strategies to promote compliance. One of the first things they teach you in nursing school is that hand hygiene is critical to healthcare; yet health care-associated infections (HCAI) continue to represent a significant safety hazard to patients. The World Health Organization estimates that each year hundreds of millions of patients all over the world develop infections associated with health care. It ...