Hospital-acquired infection:This refers to an infection contracted during a stay in the hospital. The medical term for such infections is "nosocomial." Most nosocomial infections are caused by bacteria. Because antibiotics are commonly used in hospitals, the strains of bacteria and their resistance levels differ from those found outside the hospital. Nosocomial infections can be severe and challenging to treat. A nosocomial infection is explicitly one that was not present or incubating before the patient was admitted and generally appears 48 hours after hospitalization. The term "nosocomial" originates from two Greek words: "noso-" from "nosus," meaning disease, and "-comial" from "komeion," meaning to take care of. While "nosocomial" could theoretically apply to any condition acquired under medical care, it is now specifically used for infections contracted in a hospital setting.
