RELEVANCIA DE LA PREVENCIÓN Y EL CONTROL DE LAS INFECCIONES ASOCIADAS A LA ATENCIÓN DE SALUD

Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are contracted in hospitals, result from an adverse reaction to the presence of a microorganism, occur in a care unit and were not present at the time of admission, and include occupational infections acquired by staff. The main ones are: respiratory, post-surgical, urinary sepsis and bacteremia by vascular catheter. The causative microorganisms: Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcencens, Clostridium difficile, among others. Epidemiological surveillance, together with the updating of the microbiological map and pharmacovigilance, are useful to prevent these infections, together with hygiene and education.

The objective of this paper was to analyze the behavior and strategies applied for the identification, prevention and control of infections associated with health care in hospitals in Ecuador. It was based on the scientific method at the theoretical level (historical-logical, analytical-synthetic, inductive-deductive), unstructured observation was the empirical method used, a bibliographic review of the available information was carried out, a search in databases: "Ovid", "Medline", "PubMed", "Scielo" and "Google Scholar", a deep analysis was developed on behavior, identification, prevention, control and impact of HAI. The strategies proposed in Ecuador, the scientific reports based on epidemiological surveillance, the elaboration and updating of the microbiological map, the disinfection of equipment and instruments, as well as the appropriate asepsis and antisepsis for patients, constitute the most important elements for the prevention and control of HAI.