If those figures aren't shocking enough, consider the estimate that these infections are linked with 100,000 deaths each year. About 24,000 patients will die from these afflictions. For another 70,000 these nosocomial infections will contribute to their deaths.

To understand these matters it's necessary to get a grip on the medical vocabulary. Hospital-acquired infections are known as nosocomial infections. A harmful side-effect caused by a physician is called an iatrogenic illness. Development of the nomenclature in itself indicates how common these problems have become.