Socioeconomic burden of nosocomial infections.

Nosocomial infection represents an important public health problem in developing countries as in developed ones. Economic concerns have taken on increasing importance in infection control since the mid 1970s in the USA, however there are few papers on the economics of NI in other countries. Studies on the costs of NI have used different methods, definitions and degrees of stringency when calculating indirect costs and there is therefore still uncertainty over their true economic impact on the community and on the workplace economy. Drug and especially antibiotic acquisition in addition to increased length of stay are the widely and well described parameters. Extra cost of NI include; bed, intensive care unit stay, hematological, biochemical, microbiological and radiological tests, antibiotics, other drugs, extra surgical procedures and working hours. In addition to high morbidity and mortality one of the well described parameters is the extra length of stay in the hospital. High mortality rates and economic expense which NI represents emphasizes the justification for measures of control of this entity. To estimate better the current personnel and financial resources necessary to support infection control activities and to prevent NI, it is imperative that those conducting studies of hospital epidemiology and healthcare outcomes research determine these current costs.