https://imcjms.com Ibrahim Medical College Journal of Medical Science https://imcjms.com/registration/journal_full_text/229 Mon, 05 Jun 2017 09:30:00 +0000   Today in USA, over 2 million people acquire nosocomial infection each year causing about 90, 000 deaths and costing US$ 4 to 11 billion.4 Today surveillance programs estimate the rate of this infection as 5-10% of hospital admissions all over the world.4 Bangladesh is no exception. Systematic studies on the magnitude and extent of the problem are lacking, but a study conducted in 2004 in BIRDEM hospital, excluding burn, neonatal and adult intensive care units, has documented the rate of hospital acquired infection as 2.4%.5 Hospital acquired infection is not only responsible for increased morbidity or mortality but it exerts significant economic pressure on the national healthcare sector of all countries of the world and more so where the resources are meager. Nosocomial infection increases the cost of treatment due to prolongation of hospital stay, use of expensive antibiotics for emerging multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria like methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBLs) and metalo-beta lactamse (MBLs) producing  organisms. In Bangladesh, a limited single study has recorded the mean duration of hospital stay is significantly long (20 to 26 days) for cases who acquired hospital infection compared to non-infected cases (9.5 days).6  In a multi-center study involving four geographic divisions of Bangladesh, the rate of isolation of MRSA from hospital patients ranged between 32-63%.7 Another study conducted in a referral hospital of Dhaka city reported 43.2% and 39.5% of E. coli and K.pneumoniae as ESBL phenotypes respectively.8 The situation is even dismal in high risk areas of the hospital like intensive care units (ICU). All the isolates from an ICU of BIRDEM hospital were highly resistant (>80%) to cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones.9 This entire scenario invites the urgent need for initiation of a systematic infection control program in all hospitals of the country.   Professor Ibrahim Medical College References 2.   Jessney B. Joseph Lister (1827-1912): a pioneer of antiseptic surgery remembered a century after his death. J Med Biography 2012; 20(3): 107-10. 4.   Samuel SO, Kayode OO, Musa OI, Nwigwe GC, Aboderin AO, Salami TAT, Taiwo SS. Nosocomial infections and the challenges of control in developing countries. African Journal of Clinical And Experimental Microbiology 2010; 11(2): 102-110. 6.   Mohiuddin M, Haq JA, Hoq MM, Huq F. Microbiology of nosocomial infection in  tertiary hospitals of Dhaka city and its impact. Bangladesh J Medical Microbiology 2010; 4: 32-38. 8.   Rahman MM, Haq JA, Hossain MA, Sultana R, Islam F, Islam AHMS. Prevalence of extended-spectrum- b lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in an urban hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents 2004; 24: 508-510. 2026 Ibrahim Medical College. All rights reserved.