Letters to the Editor
April 2, 2007
Dr. Masur's call, in "The
Microbial Threat," for new antibiotics to counter the alarming rise in
drug-resistant bacteria in our hospitals is important. But the first line of
defense against these "superbugs" is
rigorous hygiene practiced day after day. Drug-resistant bacteria will not make
patients sick if they never get inside the patients' bodies. These superbugs are transmitted from patient to patient on dirty
hands, unclean equipment and contaminated uniforms.
Two decades ago, Holland, Denmark and Finland faced similarly soaring
rates of drug resistance and brought those rates down below 1%. How? Rigorous
hand-hygiene practices; meticulous cleaning of equipment and rooms in-between
patient use; identifying the patients carrying drug-resistant bacteria; and
taking the isolation precautions needed to prevent these bacteria from
spreading to other patients on gloves, uniforms, stethoscopes, wheelchairs and
other equipment and furniture. A few hospitals -- too few -- in the U.S. are
proving that these precautions work here, too, and have reduced drug-resistant
infections up to 90%.
Unfortunately, most hospitals in the U.S. tolerate poor hand hygiene and
allow stethoscopes, blood-pressure cuffs, EKG wires and wheelchairs to be used
on patient after patient without adequate cleaning. Yes, new antibiotics are
needed, but in the meantime, hygiene will protect patients no matter how the
bugs morph.
Betsy McCaughey, Ph.D.
Chairman
Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths
Former New York Lt. Governor
New York