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Infections in US hospitals kill 48,000, cost billions: study (Or 99,000)
AFP ^ | Feb 22, 2010 | Unknown

Posted on 02/22/2010 2:19:05 PM PST by decimon

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Nearly 50,000 US medical patients die every year of blood poisoning or pneumonia they picked up in hospital, a study published Monday shows.

Hospital-acquired sepsis and pneumonia in 2006 claimed 48,000 lives, led to 2.3 million extra patient-days in hospital and cost 8.1 billion dollars, according to the study, led by researchers from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy at Washington-based Resources for the Future.

Together, the two hospital-acquired infections -- also called nosocomial infections -- account for about one-third of the 1.7 million infections US patients pick up every year while in hospital, the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows.

They are also responsible for nearly half of the 99,000 deaths a year from hospital-acquired infections reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: healthcare
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To: TheThirdRuffian

BLEACH cleaning cloths...did it when my husband had his knee partially replaced last June. I wiped every surface he might touch down. They drag those buckets of dirty mop water from room to room. Floor to floor.


21 posted on 02/22/2010 5:22:11 PM PST by GailA (obamacare paid for by cuts & taxes on most vulnerable Veterans, disabled,seniors & retired Military)
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To: TheThirdRuffian

I was in the hospital for 6 weeks once. I was shocked by the lax ways my room was cleaned every day. Until then, I had no idea how germ-infested hospitals were. I had thought they would be bastions of cleanliness.

My Dad died from a hospital-acquired infection.


22 posted on 02/22/2010 9:08:02 PM PST by cookiedough
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To: decimon
Clinical and Economic Outcomes Attributable to Health Care–Associated Sepsis and Pneumonia
23 posted on 02/22/2010 10:38:08 PM PST by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: GailA; neverdem

Yep did same thing for my elderly Mom and friends........those clorox cleaning wipes are good as well as a little distilled water and clorox in a spray bottle and some plain ole kimwipes from granger.......3 passes on all surfaces and we were done. Major part of my day job deals with cross contamination (reason I don’t eat at subway) and I was at the hospital each morning an evening with my girl friday and friends to super clean my friends or families hospital room...... methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus was / is the threat we feared for our loved ones.


24 posted on 02/23/2010 12:45:55 AM PST by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: Dem Guard

Glad you made it! The hand sanitizers seem to make people lazy in regards to hand washing. I always ask anyone coming to treat me to please wash their hands with soap. Soap and running water will go a long way, while hand sanitizers are convenient but less effective on some organisms. Also easy to miss a few surfaces with the sanitizer because it tends to provide a false sense of security, so they are rushing around relying on sanitizers.


25 posted on 02/23/2010 3:24:32 AM PST by momincombatboots (Ambition: climbing over others to make it; Passion: arriving while everyone enjoyed the climb)
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To: Dem Guard

my wife is going through this right now. she’s been under since january. fell down the stairs on New Years eve, been at hospital since. been gettign sicker and sicker. funny that her injuries are all just about healed now, yet she cannot breathe without a machine, and does not respond.


26 posted on 02/23/2010 6:41:14 AM PST by camle (keep an open mind and someone will fill it full of something for you)
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To: camle
Wow sorry to hear that. They kept me under so I wouldn't pull all the tubes and trech out. If she is under keep talking to her. Play her favorite music in her room. I swear hearing my wife's loving voice brought me back. Chances are she is dreaming a lot. Little things on the TV will send people off for what seems like hours to some pretty wild and often scary dreams so try to make what she hears as positive as possible. Here is something else to check. Make sure she doesn't get rashes after getting a sponge bath. I was allergic to what they used on me an it burned and scared the hell out of me even though I was unconscious. I hope she pulls out alright. When she wakes up let her know what happened to her since she will mix reality with her dreams and be rather confused.
27 posted on 02/24/2010 4:44:17 PM PST by Dem Guard
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To: momincombatboots

Yeah, I would feel a lot better if they sprayed the whole rooms with sanitizers. I was talking to my regular doctor about what they do in their facilty and he claimed they did that every night now.


28 posted on 02/24/2010 4:46:53 PM PST by Dem Guard
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To: camle

P.S. Did they do a brain scan on your wife yet? While I was under they did one on me, at least that is what my wife told me.


29 posted on 02/24/2010 4:49:35 PM PST by Dem Guard
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To: cookiedough
You all need to realize....that many folks that enter in to a hospital..are compromised to begin with.

IOW, they are "set-ups" for HAP...( Hospital Acquired Pneumonia )....It's not that the hospital did anything wrong....It's just the way it is....

30 posted on 02/24/2010 5:04:20 PM PST by Osage Orange (A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. - Sigmund Freud)
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To: Dem Guard
The biggest problem is right in front of your nose.

We have sick immuno-compromised folks entering hospitals...that have...( just like your kitchen has...) bugs in it.

Most folks don't seem to get..they most likely have Staph, Ecoli, etc.. ...on or in them.

31 posted on 02/24/2010 5:11:18 PM PST by Osage Orange (A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. - Sigmund Freud)
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To: camle
Damn...

I'm so sorry to hear it.

I wish I could be there to help you. I most certainly would if I could...!!

My prayers and thoughts are with you.

If I can help please let me know,....

32 posted on 02/24/2010 5:16:22 PM PST by Osage Orange (A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. - Sigmund Freud)
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To: Osage Orange
Exactly. I would have been a lot happier if they had used spray disinfectants every day in my room.
33 posted on 02/24/2010 5:20:40 PM PST by Dem Guard
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To: Dem Guard
Probably would have made little difference...sorry to say.

We have most of these "bugs" out there "all" the time...but healthy people have good immune systems.

Immuno-compromised people don't.

That's how it is....

34 posted on 02/24/2010 5:34:16 PM PST by Osage Orange (A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. - Sigmund Freud)
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To: Osage Orange

That’s the catch 22 of going to a hospital or even a doctors office with a lung infection. I’ve thought about
asking my doctor to treat me in the parking lot to his office rather than actually having to go inside the waiting room “den of death”.


35 posted on 02/24/2010 5:39:18 PM PST by Dem Guard
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To: Dem Guard
Well....I suppose you could request a sputum cup. Before you present yourself....to the office. Might seem odd to some...but a few Doc's I know would welcome it.....

Hope it works out for you...

If in some minor way I could help...let me know.

36 posted on 02/24/2010 5:49:55 PM PST by Osage Orange (A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. - Sigmund Freud)
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To: decimon

It killed my father, but it was a blessing, he was facing some ugly chemo and radiation that would have slowly killed him and his quality of life would have been horrible.

Lots of patients, lots of diseases, lots of chances for infection, its roulette.


37 posted on 02/24/2010 5:59:06 PM PST by big tent
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To: big tent
It killed my father, but it was a blessing, he was facing some ugly chemo and radiation that would have slowly killed him and his quality of life would have been horrible.

I can't think of a response other than that I understand.

38 posted on 02/24/2010 6:06:45 PM PST by decimon
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To: Osage Orange

I used to be married to a hospital nurse. She and I were sick all the time the first couple years of marriage. In
hindsight I should have sprayed her down at the door!


39 posted on 02/24/2010 6:07:36 PM PST by Dem Guard
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To: Dem Guard
LOL!!

Lot's a people should be sprayed down.....

Thanks for a good laugh!!

40 posted on 02/24/2010 7:20:05 PM PST by Osage Orange (A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. - Sigmund Freud)
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