Nosocomial

Nosocomial
Originating or taking place in a hospital, acquired in a hospital, especially in reference to an infection. The term "nosocomial" comes from two Greek words: "nosus" meaning "disease" + "komeion" meaning "to take care of." Hence, "nosocomial" should apply to any disease contracted by a patient while under medical care. However, "nosocomial" has been whittled down over the years and now just refers to hospitals — it is now synonymous with hospital-acquired. If someone in a hospital slips and breaks their hip, could that be a nosocomial fracture of the femur? No way. The only things that are nosocomial these days are infections. Nosocomial infections are ones that have been caught in a hospital. Since antibiotics have come into common usage, bacteria that are resistant to them have also become common, especially in hospitals, so there are now lots of nosocomial infections. A nosocomial infection is specifically one that was not present or incubating prior to the patient being admitted to the hospital, but occurred within 72 hours after admittance to the hospital.
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1. Relating to a hospital. 2. Denoting a new disorder (not the patient's original condition) associated with being treated in a hospital, such as a hospital-acquired infection. [G. nosokomeion, hospital, fr. nosos, disease, + komeo, to take care of]

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nos·o·co·mi·al .näs-ə-'kō-mē-əl adj acquired or occurring in a hospital <\nosocomial infection>
nos·o·co·mi·al·ly -ē adv

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noso·co·mi·al (nos″o-koґme-əl) [noso- + Gr. komeion to take care of] pertaining to or originating in the hospital, usually referring to a disease or other pathologic condition.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • nosocomial — nosocomial, iale, iaux [ nozɔkɔmjal, jo ] adj. • 1855; du lat. nosocomium, gr. nosokomeion « hôpital » ♦ Méd. Qui se rapporte à l hôpital. Infections nosocomiales, qui se répandent dans les hôpitaux. ● nosocomial, nosocomiale, nosocomiaux… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Nosocomial — Nos o*co mi*al (n[o^]s [ o]*k[=o] m[i^]*al), a. [L. nosocomium a hospital, Gr. nosokomei^on; no sos disease + komei^n to attend to.] 1. Of or pertaining to a hospital; as, nosocomial atmosphere. Dunglison. [1913 Webster] 2. Acquired in a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nosocomial — nosocomial, ale (no zo ko mi al, a l ) adj. Qui est relatif aux hôpitaux. Typhus nosocomial. Fièvre nosocomiale. Les édifices nosocomiaux. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Terme grec signifiant hôpital, dérivé de deux mots se définissant par maladie et soigner …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • nosocomial — adj. 2 g. Relativo a hospital ou aos hospitais (ex.: infecção nosocomial). = HOSPITALAR, NOSOCÔMICO   ‣ Etimologia: nosocômio + al …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • nosocomial — Perteneciente o relativo al hospital. Diccionario Mosby Medicina, Enfermería y Ciencias de la Salud, Ediciones Hancourt, S.A. 1999 …   Diccionario médico

  • nosocomial — (adj.) 1855, from L. nosocomium, from Gk. nosokomeion, from nosos disease. Nosocome was a 17c. word for hospital …   Etymology dictionary

  • nosocomial — [nōs΄ə kō′mē əl] adj. of or beginning in a hospital or medical facility; esp., of a hospital acquired disease or infection …   English World dictionary

  • Nosocomial — Infection nosocomiale Les infections nosocomiales sont les infections contractées dans un établissement de santé. Le terme nosocomial vient du grec nosous, maladie et de komein soigner . Une infection est dite nosocomiale ou hospitalière, si elle …   Wikipédia en Français

  • nosocomial — {{＃}}{{LM N47109}}{{〓}} {{［}}nosocomial{{］}} ‹no·so·co·mial› {{《}}▍ adj.inv.{{》}} {{♂}}En medicina, referido a una enfermedad o a una infección,{{♀}} que se produce en un hospital o en otro centro de atención médica: • Cogió una neumonía… …   Diccionario de uso del español actual con sinónimos y antónimos

  • nosocomial — adjective Etymology: Late Latin nosocomium hospital, from Late Greek nosokomeion, from Greek nosokomos one who tends the sick, from nosos disease + komos; akin to Greek kamnein to suffer, toil, Sanskrit śāmyati he tires Date: circa 1843 acquired… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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