hospital-acquired infections | Arthritis Information

 

Includes an article about a woman who was told she had an autoimmune disease from breast implants, but when they were taken out, the surgeon found bacteria on one of the implants.

http://hospitalacquiredinfections.blogspot.com/search/label/1%20Family.%203%20People.%203%20Infections%20in%2012%20Months.%201%20Dead.  Just lately I have been hearing so much about infections picked up during a hospital stay.  I mean serious life or death infections.  If you can avoid itstay out of hospitals.  I always feel I need a shower after them taking blood for a blood test and after going to the doctors offices.  After each of my boys was born via emergency c-section, I went home the next day.  The nurses tried to talk me into staying an extra day or two, and it wasn't a problem with insurance, but I would much rather be at home.  My doctor agreed - she said that a hospital is no place for a healthy baby and a new mom (even with a 5" incision).  When I had my appendix out, I went home 6 hours after surgery.  I had no desire to hang around in the hospital.

Another thing - in this day and age of HIPAA (for those outside the USA, that's our healthcare privacy laws) why on Earth we have to share rooms in the hospital is beyond me.  If you have a roommate, he or she (and all their family and friends) can overhear all the intimate details of whatever malady brought you to the hospital - and vice-versa.  Plus it's hard enough to sleep in the hospital even with a private room; it's damn near impossible if you have a roommate (especially if he/she is high maintenance or has lots of visitors).

Most of the new hospitals being built in the area only have private rooms, but all the old hospitals have double, triple, or even quadruple rooms!  When my stepmother was in the ICU last fall, she had a roommate who had to have dialysis every day or two.  They would bring in the dialysis machine and hook her up AT NIGHT, and the damn thing made so much noise it kept both ladies awake.  And my stepmother was in for blood clots in her lungs, so she was constantly coughing and setting her monitor alarms off.  Neither old girl could get any rest.
I guess I'm beating the odds because I've had 3 surgical procedures in the last year at a hospital with no sign of infections.  I know it happens and happens frequently and I guess I've been lucky but I've also been vigilent.  I've told medical personnel to wash their hands.  I didn't want my room mopped until they used clean water and a new mop.  I raised hell about that one.  I was only an inpatient for one of the surgeries but went home ASAP - 3 days after my total knee replacement.  I had a private room when I had a TKR and I was thankful for that.

[QUOTE=JasmineRain]

Another thing - in this day and age of HIPAA (for those outside the USA, that's our healthcare privacy laws) why on Earth we have to share rooms in the hospital is beyond me.  If you have a roommate, he or she (and all their family and friends) can overhear all the intimate details of whatever malady brought you to the hospital - and vice-versa.  Plus it's hard enough to sleep in the hospital even with a private room; it's damn near impossible if you have a roommate (especially if he/she is high maintenance or has lots of visitors).


here in the uk under national health system. no private rooms ..
there are wards whith 6-8 beds  in1 room .. and only pull around curtains
for privacy.. allso these are mixed wards men and women...

Boney


Boney, am curious about infection rates in UK hospitals.  Can you come up with any info?  Thanks, LindyDuring my onset I was so ill with pain my doctor said she considered putting me in the hospital but she felt it would be too risky because she thought I might very likely catch an infection.By the way- I agree Boney- all rooms should be PRIVATE! I pay extra if I have to- I just cannot have a room mate!hi lin here is a little info .. will look forsome 2008 info..


MRSA bacteria (Multi resistant Staphylococcus aureus) [Newton Graphic Science Magazine] MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a type of bacteria which has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics. MRSA infection has become increasingly difficult to treat, and can lead to death.The number of cases of MRSA has been rising sharply - from 2,422 in 1997 in England and Wales, to 7,684 in 2003/4 in England alone. Official figures show that about 15% of reported MRSA cases result in death. In terms of antibiotic resistance in hospitals, the UK has one of the worst records, particularly for MRSA. . For people who are concerned about the possibility of MRSA infection in UK hospitals has been one of the factors which has encouraged them to seek hospital treatment abroad. (European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System ) monitors antimicrobial resistance in Europe. It maintains a comprehensive surveillance and information system that provides comparable and validated data on the prevalence and spread of major invasive bacteria such as MRSA. According to EARSS (European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System ) Norway had less than  0.6% MRSA in 2005. The following data has been extracted from an EARSS report covering the period 1999-2002. The data shows the proportion of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in each country which is methicillin resistant. It does not show the incidence of MRSA infection. i see this is not just a uk problem

the study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded that almost 95,000 people developed Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections that year, and that 85 percent of the infections were acquired in health care settings.

"Every day, fifty Americans die from MRSA because hospitals aren't doing enough to protect patients from these deadly infections," said Lisa McGiffert, Director of Consumers Union's Stop Hospital infections campaign (http://www.StopHospitalInfections.org). "The public deserves to know which hospitals are doing a good job preventing infections and keeping patients safe.

HR 1174, a bipartisan measure sponsored by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-PA, would require the public reporting by hospitals and surgical centers of one or more types of healthcare-acquired infections. Under the bill, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would determine which of the major types of infections would need to be reported. HHS would submit an annual report to Congress on steps being taken to reduce infections, and there would be a pilot program to assist certain hospitals in developing anti-infection programs.

"By making infection rates public, HR 1174 will encourage hospitals to improve patient care and ultimately save lives and dollars," said McGiffert.

MRSA and other hospital acquired infections can spread from patient to patient through contact
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What passes for health care these days in the UK keeps going from bad to worse. The latest bad news is a surge in deaths caused by hospital acquired infection. From The Guardian story:

A 72% increase in deaths linked to the hospital superbug Clostridium difficile was disclosed yesterday by the Office for National Statistics.

It said the infection, which causes severe diarrhoea among patients whose resistance has been weakened by antibiotics, was mentioned on 6,480 death certificates in England and Wales in 2006, compared with 3,757 in 2005. More than half registered C difficile as the underlying cause of death and the rest mentioned it as a contributory factor.

The response of the NHS is typically weak:

David Nicholson, the NHS chief executive, yesterday held a "cleanliness summit", saying he would publish hospitals' individual MRSA infection rates.

Boy, those are some grim stats.  Thanks, Boney for your research.  I was curious since they have wards instead of private or even semi-private rooms. 

Any comments on this passage? 

"Case Story #1: Victoria Nahum. Affected by Staph 1999 – thru the Present.
More than 6 years after breast implant surgery Victoria Nahum came to find out that Staph Epidermidis had been percolating inside her body sapping her strength, making her sick and robbing her of her good health. Doctors had been baffled by her unusual list of symptoms ranging from severe joint pain, burning inside her arms and legs and mini-fevers to crushing fatigue that was so bad some days she could not even finish making the bed without taking a rest in the middle of the process.

Finally, a Rheumatologist diagnosed her with an autoimmune disease called Sjogren's that he claimed was triggered by having the implants but that getting them removed wouldn't reverse the disease. But on March 10, 2006, she had them taken out anyway and much to her surgeon's surprise, he found a sticky substance (staph biofilm) globbed all over the top of the implants. Staph Epidermidis, a hospital acquired infection had lived unchecked in her body for more than 6 years. Finally an answer."

This is something we are told cannot happen - if was an infection, you'd have a high fever; if was an infection from the surgery, you would have known it right away, etc.
Staying in a hospital...or having surgery definitely increases your risk of a resistant infection. MRSA is not the only culprit. Now, Cdiff has mutated and is causing a fair amount of problems. We are seeing alot of this infection here lately. And remember, the hand sanitizer does not kill this bug. Only soap and water will take care of it. This one scares me as much as MRSA. I, like LinB watch when I am a patient. It has shocked me how nurses and other staff do not wash their hands, and many other measures that should be taken to ensure the infection rate stays down. You can also thank the doctors for these infections with their high rate of antibiotic prescribing. You can also give credit to all of us who have not finished our antibiotic prescriptions. Community acquired MRSA is not being treated either. It will be interesting to see where this all goes. My mother was a nurse... and for years when I was little I thought that when she said "staph" infection she was actually saying "staff" infection, because it seemed to me that you get it from the hospital/nursing home staff...

No offense to any doctors/nurses out there... but mom used to tell some horror stories!  To this day I would almost rather have surgery in my living room than in a hospital.
We see alot of staph and cdiff and all kinds of other stuff where I work. I try to be very careful. I wash my hands before and after contact, use the sanitizer, I follow the rules because I would expect that if I were the patient. I don't doubt that these infections are occuring more often these days.  But my mom says I came home from the hospital with a really nasty staph infection when I was born.  According to her, it took weeks to clear up.
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