According to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control, hospitals were safer places for patients in 2010 than they were in 2009 with regard to hospital-related infections, which the IOM has estimated kill as many as 100,000 patients each year.
In 2010, say researchers, central-line associated bloodstream infections—infections that reach the blood through the patient's central line (i.e. IV or port) saw a 35% reduction among critical care patients and a 26% reduction in other patients.
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections were also down (7%), along with infections at a surgical site (10%) and Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections (18.2%).
Since the purported adherence rate to prophylactic measures—such as washing hands , using the right antiseptics, and wearing the proper barriers—has gone up, it's fair to associate this with the decrease in infections.
The only hospital-related infection that went up was for Clostridium difficile, also known as C. difficile, which was up 1.1%
This report is of particular interest to cancer patients, who frequently require a central line and frequently develop hospital-acquired infections.
Source: MedPageToday
The information provided on CancerTreatment.net is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. This information is solely for informational purposes and does not constitute the practice of medicine. We encourage all visitors to see a licensed physician or nutritionist if they have any concerns regarding health issues related to diet, personal image and any other topics discussed on this site. Neither the owners or employees of CancerTreatment.net nor the author(s) of site content take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading this site. Always speak with your primary health care provider before engaging in any form of self treatment. Please see our Legal Statement for further information.
