No one goes to a hospital, nursing home or other type of medical facility expecting to get sicker. Yet, poor sanitation techniques are the primary culprit behind an epidemic of healthcare acquired infections at medical facilities.
At hospitals alone, The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 1.7 million cases of infection will contribute to more than 90,000 deaths on an annual basis.
Common sources for healthcare associated infections include:
- Surgical incisions
- Blood transfusions
- Ventilators
- Surgical hardware
- Catheters
- Patient rooms and medical equipment.
The more commonly encountered healthcare associated infections remain:
Clostrim Difficile – Known as C. Diff, it is an infection in the colon that can cause severe illness or even death when treatment is delayed. Spread though feces, C. Diff can readily spread to patients living in the close quarters of a nursing home or hospital when staff fails to wash their hands between treatments with patients or when other common sense sanitation practices are ignored.
Methacillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus – Referred to as MRSA, it is a bacterial super bug that is resistant to most type of antibiotics. Carried by some patients on admission, MRSA can prove especially difficult to treat when it is introduced to the body during invasive medical procedures. When not identified and treated by medical staff, MRSA can contribute to ongoing medical problems or death.
Psedomas aeruginosa – A strain of bacteria commonly responsible for respiratory infections. In many cases of psedomas aeruginosa, infected people develop peneumonia that is difficult to treat with most types antibiotics.
Klebsiella pnuemoniae – An infection that is particularly destructive to the lungs, causing a thick coating to the lining of lung tissue, gradually making it more difficult to breathe. Unless treatment is initiated quickly after diagnosis, the fatality rate for patients with klebsiella pneumoniae is over 50%.
Necrotizing fasciitis – Most commonly caused by Group A Streptoccus, necrotizing fasciitis destroys muscle and other soft tissues as the bacteria feed on the healthy cells. Commonly referred to as flesh eating bateria, necrotizing fasciits can lead to serious medical complication such as: toxic shock syndrome, sepsis, amputations or death. Given its dire consequences, hospitals and nursing homes need to be mindful of the presence and implement antibiotics as soon as feasible.
Given the prevalence of healthcare acquired infections, medical facilities need to create and implement an infection control policy to protect patients, visitors and staff. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers work with some of the leading authorities in the fields of infectious disease to review healthcare infection cases. Put our experience to work for you by allowing us to review your hospital, nursing home or medical facility infection case.
Related materials from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers:
A study by McGill University researchers that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that a private room in a hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) can decrease the chances of contracting an infection.
The study compared rates of infection in an ICU before and after the hospital changed from shared rooms with curtains to private, single rooms. The results of the study showed that the combined rate of infection for C. difficile, MRSA (methiciliin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and vancomycin-resistant Enteroccucus decreased by 54% after the change to private rooms….
An English study evaluating the prevalence of MRSA (MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in nursing homes has revealed residents and staff are at risk for contracting the bacteria. The sampling 1,111 residents and 553 staff in 45 nursing homes revealed 24% of residents and 7% of the staff were MRSA carriers.
According to Dr. Paddy Kearney, Consultant Medical Microbiologist with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, “We decided to carry out the study after noticing an apparent increase in recent years in the number of patients who had MRSA when they were admitted to hospital from nursing homes.”
A recently filedwrongful death lawsuitclaims that clostridium difficile, or commonly known as C. Diff, is to blame for the death of a patient in an Illinois Nursing Home.
The lawsuit alleges two short-term stays at Helia Healthcare facilities (Helia Healthcare of Energy and Helia Healthcare of Benton) are to responsible for the man’s C. Diff infection and development of decubitus ulcers. It is further alleged that these medical complications contributed to the man’s death….