CATHETER-RELATED BLOODSTREAM INFECTIONS
A catheter, of course, is a tube that’s placed into a patient’s large vein, usually in the neck, chest, arm, or groin. It’s generally used to draw blood, or to give fluids or medications.
A bloodstream infection occurs when live bacteria (or other germs) travel through the catheter and invade the bloodstream.
I’ve previously written about hospital-acquired infections. These are infections that patients acquire during the course of receiving treatment in a hospital for other conditions. It’s estimated that about 99,000 patients die each year from hospital-acquired infections. According to the Centers For Disease Control, of these 99,000 deaths, approximately 30,000 deaths are caused by catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). Studies show that almost 100% of CRBSI’s could be prevented if hospital workers would:
(1) wash their hands with soap;
(2) clean patient's skin with an effective antiseptic;
(3) put sterile drapes over the entire patient;
(4) wear a sterile mask, hat, gown and gloves; and
(5) put a sterile dressing over the catheter site.
To show how outrageous it is that these infections occur, Medicare has classified CRBSIs as “never events” (meaning they’re preventable) and will no longer reimburse hospitals for the costs they incur due to these kinds of infections.
In Delaware, there’s a law called the “Hospital Infections Disclosure Act”. Under this law, a hospital-acquired infection is one that was not present or incubating at the time the patient was admitted to the hospital. Hospitals in Delaware are required to report health-care acquired infections to the Department of Health & Social Services. The purpose behind this law was to make available to the public information about the risk of hospital-acquired infections in each of the following hospitals:
AI duPont Hospital for Children;
BayHealth Medical Center – Kent General Hospital;
BayHealth Medical Center – Milford Memorial Hospital
Beebe Medical Center;
Christiana Care Health System – Christiana Hospital;
Christiana Care Health System – Wilmington Hospital;
Nanticoke Memorial Hospital; and
Saint Francis Hospital
An Advisory Committee that was established under this law decided that the first thing to be reported by these hospitals would be central line associated blood stream infections from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in each of Delaware’s hospitals. It’s unfortunate that the reporting requirements are limited to the ICU’s because the risk of hospital acquired infections exists throughout the entire hospital, and reports of infections in ICU’s does not provide the public with the information the law was designed for.
If you or a loved one contracted an infection while in the hospital, contact a Delaware medical malpractice attorney to discuss your rights.
