Nursing measures for the prevention of infection in the compromised host.

Deficits in the external and internal defense mechanisms place immune-suppressed patients at great risk of acquiring deficit-specific infections. This article will acquaint nurses, patients, and their families with the many measures that are available to them to prevent such infections and the mortality associated with them. Many of these measures can prolong the time available to patients to receive treatment that may arrest or reverse the underlying disease processes.