Abstract
In the United States, long-term care residents continue to outnumber the number of patients in the acute care setting. Infections in long-term care facilities occur at rates similar to those found in acute care hospitals ranging in incidence from 1.8–9.4 1000 patient-care days (1–4). Urinary tract infections (UTI) occur most often followed by infections of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, or soft-tissue infection. It has been estimated that 10–30% of nursing facility residents die each year, but how often infection contributes to mortality rates is not known (1). Pneumonia has been reported to result in death in 6–23% of cases, whereas bacteremia has been associated with death in 10–25% of cases (1,4). This chapter discusses the prevention and control of common infectious problems in the long-term care setting. The reader should refer to related chapters in this book for in-depth discussion of the diagnosis and treatment of specific clinical syndromes and pathogens.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Nicolle, L. E. and Garibaldi, R. A. (1995) Infection control in long-term-care facilities. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 16, 348–353.
Nicolle, L. E., Strausbaugh, L. J., and Garibaldi, R. A. (1996) Infections and antibiotic resistance in nursing facilities. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 9, 1–17.
Jackson, M. M. and Fierer, J. (1984) Infections and infection risk in residents of long-term care facilities: a review of the literature, 1970–1984. Am. J. Infect. Control 13, 63–77.
Smith, P. W. and Rusnak, P. G. (1997) Infection prevention and control in the long-term-care facility. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 18, 831–849.
Garner, J. S., Jarvis, W. R., Emori, T. G., et al. (1988) CDC definitions for nosomial infections. Am. J. Infect. Control 16, 128–140.
McGeer, A., Campbell, B., Emori, T. G., et al. (1991) Definitions of infection for surveillance in long-term care facilities. Am. J. Infect. Control 19, 1–7.
Smith, P. W. and The Consensus Conference Participants. (1987) Consensus conference on nosocomial infections in long-term care facilities. Am. J. Infect. Control 15, 97–100.
Garner J. S. and The Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. (1996) Guideline for isolation precautions in hospitals. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 17, 53–80.
Bradley S. F. (1999) Issues in the management of resistant bacteria in long-term-care facilities. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 20, 362–366.
Strausbaugh, L. J., Crossley, K. B., Nurse, B. A., et al. (1996) Antimicrobial resistance in long-term care facilities. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 17, 129–140.
Bennett, R. G. (1998) Gastrointestinal infections among the elderly, in Bailliere’s Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 5, ( Bula, C. J. and Kauffman, C. A., eds.), Bailliere Tindall, London, pp. 83–103.
Boyce, J. M., Jackson, M. M., Pugliese, G., et al. (1994) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): a briefing for acute care hospitals and nursing facilities. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 15, 105–115.
Bradley, S. F. and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Committee on Long-Term Care. (1999) Prevention of influenza in chronic care facilities: a position statement. Infect. Control. Hosp. Epidemiol. 20, 629–637.
Cantrell, M. and Norman, D. C. (1998) Skin and soft-tissue infections in the elderly, in Bailliere’s Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 5, ( Bula, C. J. and Kauffman, C. A., eds.), Bailliere Tindall, London, pp. 71–81.
Crossley, K. and The Long-Term-Care Committee of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. (1998) Vancomycin-resistant enterococci in long-term care facilities. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 19, 521–525.
Degelau, J. (1992) Scabies in long-term care facilities. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 13, 421–425.
Falsey, A. R. (1991) Noninfluenza respiratory virus infection in long-term care facilities. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 12, 602–608.
Levine, W. C., Smart, J. F., Archer, D. L., et al. (1991) Foodborne disease outbreaks in nursing facilities, 1975 through 1987. JAMA 266, 2105–2109.
Marcus, E. L. and Tur-Kaspa, R. (1997) Viral hepatitis in older adults. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 45, 755–763.
Marrie, T. J. (1998) Pneumonia, in Balliere’s Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 5, ( Bula, C. J. and Kauffman, C. A., eds.), Bailliere Tindall, London, pp. 35–51.
Muder, R. R. (1998) Pneumonia in residents of long-term care facilities: epidemiology, etiology, management, and prevention. Am. J. Med. 105, 319–330.
Rajagopalan, S. (1997) Infectious diarrheas in older adults. Infect. Dis. Clin. Pract. 6, 313–316.
Rajagopalan, S. and Yoshikawa, T. T. (1998) Tuberculosis in the elderly, in Bailliere’s Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 5, ( Bula C. J. and Kauffman, C. A., eds.), Bailliere Tindall, London, pp. 105–118.
Schwartz, B. and Ussery, X. T. (1992) Group A streptococcal outbreaks in nursing facilities. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 13, 742–747.
Yoshikawa, T. T. (1994) The challenge and unique aspects of tuberculosis in older patients. Infect. Dis. Clin. Pract. 3, 62–66.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bradley, S.F. (2001). Infections and Infection Control in the Long-Term Care Setting. In: Yoshikawa, T.T., Norman, D.C. (eds) Infectious Disease in the Aging. Infectious Disease. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-026-1_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-026-1_20
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-5459-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-026-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive