A new study out of Canada has found that private rooms for intensive care unit (ICU) patients may greatly reduce the number of infections contracted while in the hospital. Patients in rooms with more than one bed were found to catch more than double the number of infections.
Hospital stays for ICU patients increase by more than a week, on average, when an infection is contracted, with roughly a third of all ICU patients becoming infected with a new bug while in the hospital. However, by looking at two hospitals in Montreal, Canada, this study saw how placing ICU patients in private rooms can reduce the spread of infection.
Lead researcher Dana Teltsch, along with her colleagues at McGill University, studied five years worth of data from more than 19,000 admissions to the intensive care units at the two hospitals. About halfway through the study, one of the hospitals converted their ICU to have only private rooms, allowing researchers to compare infection rates.
The research team, who published their findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that following the switch to private rooms only, the combined risk of contracting a new infection dropped by more than 50 percent. The average amount of time ICU patients had to stay in the hospital also fell after being placed in a private room.
Although many infections are impossible to prevent, when left untreated, infections can cause serious harm or even death. If a loved one has died as a result of doctor or hospital negligence, call or email Silberstein, Awad & Miklos today for a free consultation. We have helped clients with Manhattan medical malpractice, Queens medical malpractice, Brooklyn medical malpractice, Bronx medical malpractice and Long Island medical malpractice matters. We don't get paid unless we win your case.
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