Survey: ER visits result in infection for some elderly patients

A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has found that elderly adults in long-term care facilities that were recently treated in a hospital emergency room are three times more likely to develop a gastrointestinal or respiratory infection than those not recently seen in an ER.

For the study, researchers looked at about 1,270 seniors who lived in 22 long-term care facilities located in four Canadian cities between September 2006 and May 2008. The study focused on emergency room visits in the fall, winter and spring months, since respiratory and gastrointestinal infection rates are higher at these times than in the summer.

During the nearly two year study, about 425 of the seniors included in the study were treated at a hospital emergency room for something other than a gastrointestinal or acute respiratory problem. The rest of the seniors in the study were not seen at an ER.

The research found that those who were seen at a hospital emergency room were roughly three times as likely to develop a gastrointestinal or acute respiratory infection in the week after their visit.

In some cases, infections are not preventable and do not occur as a result of hospital negligence. However, some infections can be avoided and it is the responsibility of the hospital to prevent their patients from developing such infections.

If you or a loved one has acquired a serious infection while in a hospital and have questions about the quality of the medical care received, please call Silberstein, Awad & Miklos' hospital malpractice lawyers for answers. We have helped clients with Queens hospital malpractice, Bronx hospital malpractice, Brooklyn hospital malpractice, Manhattan hospital malpractice and Long Island hospital malpractice matters.

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