Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 7, Number 2—April 2001
THEME ISSUE
4th Decennial International Conference on Nosocomial and Healthcare-Associated Infections
Prevention is Primary

Emerging Health Care-Associated Infections in the Geriatric Population

Larry James StrausbaughComments to Author 
Author affiliation: Veteran's Administration Medical Center, Portland, Oregon, USA

Main Article

Table

Endemic infection rates in long-term care facilities,a United States, 1978-1989

Category of infection Rate (no. of infections per 1,000 resident care days)
All infections 1.8 to 13.5
Urinary tract infections 0.1 to 3.5
Respiratory tract infections 0.3 to 4.7
Skin and soft tissue infections 0.1 to 2.1

aReference 4

Main Article

References
  1. Gorse  GJ, Thrupp  LD, Nudleman  KL, Wyle  FA. Hawkins, Cesario TC. Bacterial meningitis in the elderly. Arch Intern Med. 1984;144:1603–7. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Gross  PA, Levine  JF, LoPresti  A, Urdaneta  M. Infections in the elderly. In: Wenzel RP, editor. Prevention and control of nosocomial infections. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1997. p. 1059-97.
  3. Crossley  KB, Peterson  PK. Infections in the elderly. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, editors. Principles and practice of infectious diseases. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone; 2000. p. 3164-9.
  4. Strausbaugh  LJ, Joseph  CJ. Epidemiology and prevention of infections in residents of long term care facilities. In: Mayhall CG, editor. Hospital epidemiology and infection control. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1999. p. 1461-82.
  5. Gravenstein  S, Fillit  H, Ershler  WB. Clinical immunology of aging. In: Tallis R, Fillit H, Brocklehurst JC, editors. Geriatric medicine and gerontology. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 1999. p. 109-21.
  6. Thomas  AJ. Nutrition. In: Tallis R, Fillit H, Brocklehurst JC, editors. Geriatric medicine and gerontology. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 1999. p. 899-912.
  7. Emori  TC, Banerjee  SN, Culver  DH, Gaynes  RP, Horan  TC, Edwards  JR, Nosocomial infections in elderly patients in the United States, 1986-1990. Am J Med. 1991;91(Suppl 3B):289S–93. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Gross  PA, Rapuano  C, Adrignolo  A, Shaw  B. Nosocomial infections: decade-specific risk. Infect Control. 1983;4:145–7.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Saviteer  SM, Samsa  GP, Rutala  WA. Nosocomial infections in the elderly--increased risk per hospital day. Am J Med. 1988;84:661–6. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Caceres  VM, Kim  DK, Bresee  JS, Horan  J, Noel  JS, Ando  T, A viral gastroenteritis outbreak associated with person-to-person spread among hospital staff. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1998;19:162–7. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Stead  WW, Dutt  AK. Tuberculosis in elderly persons. Annu Rev Med. 1991;42:267–76. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Neill  MA, Rice  SK, Ahmad  NV, Flanigan  TP. Cryptosporidiosis: an unrecognized cause of diarrhea in elderly hospitalized patients. Clin Infect Dis. 1996;22:168–70. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Bennett  RG. Diarrhea among residents of long-term care facilities. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1993;14:397–404. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Chen  K-T, Chen  C-J, Chang  P-Y, Morse  DL. A nosocomial outbreak of malaria associated with contaminated catheters and contrast medium of a computed tomographic scanner. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1999;20:22–5. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update: outbreak of influenza A infection--Alaska and the Yukon territory, July-August 1998. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1998;47:685–8.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. Falsey  AR, Criddle  MM, Kolassa  JE, McCann  RM, Brower  CA, Hall  WJ. Evaluation of a handwashing intervention to reduce respiratory illness rates in senior day-care centers. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1999;20:200–2. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  17. Orr  PH, Peeling  RW, Fast  M, Brunka  J, Duckworth  H, Harding  GKM, Serological study of responses to selected pathogens causing respiratory tract infection in the institutionalized elderly. Clin Infect Dis. 1996;23:1240–5. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  18. Jackson  MM, Fierer  J. Infections and infection risk in residents of long-term care facilities: a review of the literature, 1970-1984. Am J Infect Control. 1985;13:63–77. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. Levine  W, Smart  J, Archer  D, Bean  N, Tauxe  R. Foodborne disease outbreaks in nursing homes, 1975 through 1987. JAMA. 1991;266:2105–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. Lenar  AJ, Manangan  LP, Jarvis  AR. Healthcare-associated outbreaks in the 90s: hospital infections Program CDC. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2000;21:138.
  21. Schwartz  B, Ussery  XT. Group A streptococcal outbreaks in nursing homes. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1992;13:742–7. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. Layton  MC, Calliste  SG, Gomez  TM, Patton  C, Brooks  S. A mixed foodborne outbreak with Salmonella heidelberg and Campylobacter jejuni in a nursing home. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1997;18:115–21. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. Loeb  M, Simor  AE, Mandell  L, Krueger  P, McArthur  M, James  M, Two nursing home outbreaks of respiratory infection with Legionella sainthelensi. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1999;47:547–52.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  24. Strausbaugh  LJ, Jacobson  C, Yost  T. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a nursing home and affiliated hospital: a four year perspective. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1993;14:331–6. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. Strausbaugh  LJ, Crossley  KB, Nurse  BA, Thrupp  LD; SHEA Long-Term-Care Committee. Antimicrobial resistance in long-term-care facilities. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1996;17:129–40. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. Muder  RR, Brennen  C, Drenning  SD, Sout  JE, Wagener  MM. Multiply antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacilli in a long-term-care facility: a case-control study of patient risk factors and prior antibiotic use. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1997;18:809–13. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  27. Bonilla  HF, Zervos  MA, Lyons  MJ, Bradley  SF, Hedderwick  SA, Ramsey  MA, Colonization with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium: comparison of a long-term-care unit with an acute care hospital. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1997;18:333–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  28. Brennen  C, Wagener  MM, Muder  RR. Vancomycin-resistant Eneterococcus faecium in a long-term care facility. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1998;46:157–60.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. Nuorti  JP, Butler  JC, Crutcher  JM, Guevara  R, Welch  D, Holder  P, An outbreak of multidrug-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia and bacteremia among unvaccinated nursing home residents. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:1861–8. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  30. Smith  PW, Rusnak  PG. Infection prevention and control in the long-term-care facility. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1997;18:831–49. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  31. Bradley  SF; SHEA Long-Term-Care Committee. Prevention of influenza in long-term-care facilities. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1999;20:629–37. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  32. Nicolle  LE, Bentley  D, Garibaldi  R, Neuhaus  E, Smith  P; SHEA Long-Term-Care Committee. Antimicrobial use in long-term-care facilities. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1996;17:119–28. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  33. Goldrick  BA. Infection control programs in skilled nursing long-term care facilities. AJIC Am J Infect Control. 1999;27:4–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  34. Ahlbrecht  H, Shearen  C, Degelau  J, Guay  DRP. A team approach to infection prevention and control in the nursing home setting. Am J Infect Control. 1999;27:64–70. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  35. Goldrick  BA. Infection control programs in long-term-care facilities: structure and process. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1999;20:764–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

Main Article

Page created: May 10, 2011
Page updated: May 10, 2011
Page reviewed: May 10, 2011
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external