Infections acquired in a hospital setting after admission are called

• A. Nosocomial infections
• B. Healthcare-associated infections
• C. Hospital-associated infections (HAI)
• D. Community-onset infections

Answer: (C)

Infections that appear after a patient has been admitted to a hospital are described as hospital-associated infections. This term specifically points to the hospital as the setting where the infection was acquired, and they are typically defined as infections that develop 48 hours or more after admission (not present on admission). This helps distinguish them from infections the patient already had in the community before coming to the hospital, or from infections acquired in other settings.

Nosocomial is an older synonym for hospital-acquired infections, and healthcare-associated infections is a broader umbrella that includes infections from any healthcare setting. For an infection clearly linked to the hospital stay after admission, the hospital-associated infections phrasing is the most precise match.