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Review
. 2021 Apr;47(4):31.
doi: 10.3892/ijmm.2021.4864. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Nosocomial infection of COVID‑19: A new challenge for healthcare professionals (Review)

Qiu Du #  1 , Dingding Zhang #  1 , Weimin Hu #  2 , Xuefei Li  1 , Qiongrong Xia  1 , Taishen Wen  3 , Haiping Jia  2
Affiliations
Review

Nosocomial infection of COVID‑19: A new challenge for healthcare professionals (Review)

Qiu Du et al. Int J Mol Med. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Nosocomial infections, also known as hospital-acquired infections, pose a serious challenge to healthcare professionals globally during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) pandemic. Nosocomial infection of COVID‑19 directly impacts the quality of life of patients, as well as results in extra expenditure to hospitals. It has been shown that COVID‑19 is more likely to transmit via close, unprotected contact with infected patients. Additionally, current preventative and containment measures tend to overlook asymptomatic individuals and superspreading events. Since the mode of transmission and real origin of COVID‑19 in hospitals has not been fully elucidated yet, minimizing nosocomial infection in hospitals remains a difficult but urgent task for healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals globally should form an alliance against nosocomial COVID‑19 infections. The fight against COVID‑19 may provide valuable lessons for the future prevention and control of nosocomial infections. The present review will discuss some of the key strategies to prevent and control hospital‑based nosocomial COVID‑19 infections.

Keywords: nosocomial infection; healthcare professionals; prevention and control.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transmission of Coronavirus disease 2019 in hospitals and factors contributing to the occurrence of nosocomial infection. Exclamation mark indicates the factors facilitating the occurrence of nosocomial infection. PPE, personal protective equipment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Triage strategies of patients in hospitals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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