[Control of nosocomial infections by multiresistant bacteria in geriatric services]

Geriatric wards have a higher prevalence of infection than surgical or acute medical wards, and multiresistant organisms contribute a nonnegligeable proportion of infections in elderly inpatients. The measures used to prevent nosocomial infections in geriatric wards are the same as in other types of wards. They include identifying and ensuring the technical and geographic isolation of colonized and infected patients. Health care providers should be informed of the situation, and antimicrobials used with discernment to avoid the selection of multiresistant organisms. Implementation of these measures is made difficult by architectural factors, the fact that many geriatric patients require assistance in all the activities of daily living, and the long duration of stays in geriatric wards. Additional measures are probably essential to achieve long-term control of nosocomial infections. Insufficient attention has been given to health care providers' perceptions of nosocomial infection and to defining the tasks actually performed by these providers.