How can emerging disinfection technologies gain a foothold in the current culture of hospitals?

摘要

For well over a century, hospitals around the world have fought against the rise of what are now called "health care-acquired infections" (HAIs) caused by a long list of pathogens like Clostridium difficile and Staphylococcus aureus. Patients entered the hospital and quickly became exposed to disease and infections unrelated to their admitting diagnosis. In recent times, the increased resistance of bacteria like MRSA to standard antibiotics has only complicated the fight against HAIs as patients without a history of heavy antibiotic use are infected by bacteria already hardened by mutagenic processes in other patients. Today, as many,as 1 in 20 - or a total of 1.7 million hospitalized patients annually - will contract an HAI in United States hospitals; of those cases, approximately 5% will die (1). Approximately