A recent study out of the Jefferson Heart Institute at Thomas Jefferson University has found that since the early 1990s, the risk of infection in patients that have either a pacemaker or defibrillator has more than doubled. The researchers suggest that the cause of this spike in the rate of infections may be that heart patients are sicker than they were twenty years ago.
For the research, the team, led by Dr. Arnold J. Greenspon, looked at hospital discharge records from a national database. Their research revealed an increase of more than 200 percent between 1993 and 2008 in the number of infections related to a permanent pacemaker or implantable defibrillator, both referred to as cardiac electrophysiological devices (CIEDs).
Greenspon, a professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College and director of cardiac electrophysiology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, believes that this significant increase in the rate of infections in patients with CIEDs is a result of much of that patient population having several other major health problems in addition to having a cardiac device. Sicker patients mean a higher rate infection.
The study, which is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also notes that male patients over the age of 65 had the highest rate of infection.
While many infections are unavoidable, countless infections that develop in a hospital or following a procedure can be prevented if proper care is given. If you or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a preventable infection and you have questions about the quality of the medical care received, please contact the medical malpractice lawyers at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos for answers. We have helped clients with Queens medical malpractice, Bronx medical malpractice, Brooklyn medical malpractice, Manhattan medical malpractice and Long Island medical malpractice matters.
Call us toll-free, 1-877-ASK4SAM
No comments:
Post a Comment