Lowering the Risk of Deadly Infections in Hospitals

Each year in the U.S., an estimated 90,000 patients die as a result of infections they contracted in a hospital. Cases of infections such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and C. diff (Clostridium difficile) used to be few and far between. However, by 2004, about two out of three staph infections were MRSA in U.S. hospitals. The C. diff infection was thought to be a minor problem until a November 2008 study revealed that the intestinal bug was almost 20 times as prevalent as experts had previously estimated. The study, which was sponsored by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), looked at cases of C. diff in almost 650 hospitals in the U.S. between May and August of 2008. What researchers found was that on any given day, nearly 7,200 hospital patients are either colonized or infected with C. diff, most of which are either children or older adults, due to their increased vulnerability to infection. In addition, of those 7,200 patients, an estimated 300 patients will die as a result of the C. diff infection.

The C. diff infection can be easily transmitted to hospital patients after they have been on an antibiotic, since those medications remove certain bacteria from the gut, making it difficult for the body to fight off the infection. Since the main symptom of C. diff is diarrhea, the infection spreads rapidly, infecting the hands of patients and hospital workers, sheets, bed rails, IV poles and other hospital equipment. When a hospital worker’s hands or equipment that is used between numerous patients is contaminated, it is extremely easy for this bug to travel. For this reason, health care workers should make sure that they scrub their hands with soap and warm water (not alcohol), which is the only way to kill C. diff spores on the skin. As for keeping hospital equipment clean, it is necessary to use bleach to eliminate spores on surfaces. In many cases, hospitals make some attempt to enforce hand-washing and equipment-sanitizing rules, although most fall short of ideal conditions.

Other serious infections that hospital patients run the risk of contracting are bloodstream infections, which affect about 250,000 people in the U.S. each year as a result of catheter use. Death rates for these types of bloodstream infections can be as high as one in four patients. However, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that MRSA bloodstream infections were cut by almost 50 percent when preventive measures were taken in the 1,684 ICUs involved in the study. If appropriate measures are taken, bloodstream infections can be eliminated completely from hospitals. Several years ago, 108 Michigan hospitals implemented a five-step checklist for doctors and nurses, requiring them to wash their hands, wear sterile gowns and gloves, and protect patients with antiseptics and sterile drapes and dressings. By following these simple steps, these Michigan hospitals completely eliminated bloodstream infections in just 18 months, saving an estimated 1,500 lives. Although hospital are meant to save lives and treat health problems, patients often incur additional injuries or death as a result of a hospital stay. If you or a loved one was injured by hospital medical malpractice in the New York area, call or e-mail the malpractice attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. Our experienced attorneys serve clients with Bronx hospital malpractice, Brooklyn hospital malpractice, Queens hospital malpractice, Nassau hospital malpractice and Suffolk hospital malpractice.

Call us toll-free 1-877-ASK4SAM and visit www.ask4sam.net