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May 19, 2006
By Amanda
Trust
(Medill News Service)
CHICAGO Hospitals have long been identified as breeding grounds for infectious
bacteria, but as strains become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, more and
more lives are being put on the line.
One out of every 20 patients contracts an infection
in a hospital and it's the fourth largest cause of death in the
"That's more than breast cancer plus auto
accidents plus AIDS all together," she said.
McCaughey,
who is scheduled to speak at a medical leadership conference organized by the
Illinois Hospital Association next week at the Hilton Hotel in Lisle, said
almost all hospital infections are avoidable.
"We have the knowledge to prevent hospital
infection, what is lacking is will." she said. "Secrecy has allowed
this problem to fester for too long."
A concern that will be discussed at the conference
is the spread of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus
aureus, an antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria that puts patients at risk for skin
and blood infections, pneumonia and urinary tract infections.
In August of last year, Northwestern's
hospitals began testing all patients and putting those who tested positive in
single rooms or rooms with other people who also carry the bacteria. A notice
is put on the door and the hospital staff wash their
hands and change gloves after coming in contact with these patients, said Dr.
Lance Peterson, an epidemiologist and MRSA researcher for Evanston Northwestern
Healthcare.
"It's really spread on the hands of people, so
hand washing and gowning and gloving reinforce that because you don't want to
lean over [the patient] and get the bacterium on your hands or clothes and pass
it to the next patient," he said.
Peterson said about two-thirds of the people who
carry MRSA have no symptoms but are at a heightened risk for infection.
Originally, MRSA was only found in hospitals among
the elderly and surgical patients. But over time strains developed and spread
outside of hospitals. These non-hospital strains are called community MRSA.
"The spread of community MRSA into all age
groups makes it impossible to have a defined risk factor," Peterson said.
The community strains are now spread in hospitals.
Dr. Susan Gerber, medical director for communicable
diseases at the Chicago Department of Public Health, said the first reported
outbreak of community MRSA in a newborn nursery in
Eleven newborns developed skin lesions, she said.
They were treated with antimicrobial drugs and all
recovered.
In the same year, a 17-month-old died from MRSA at
the University of Chicago Hospital, according to a
report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
McCaughey
said one of the main ways patients can cut their risk of contracting these
dangerous and deadly bacterial infections in the hospital is by asking doctors
to wash their hands and wipe their stethoscopes prior to examination.
"If you are worried about being too
aggressive, just remember your life is at stake," she said, adding that
she recommends patients say to their doctors "Excuse me, but there is an
alcohol dispenser right here, would you mind using it before you touch
me?"
Peterson said bloodstream infections decreased by
70 percent and pneumonia decreased by 50 percent after Northwestern University
Healthcare began testing patients for MRSA.
He said the cost of the MRSA program is about
$800,000 per year, an expense he said gets offset by reduced rates of infection
and complications among patients.
Danny Chun, spokesman for the Illinois Hospital
Association, said one of the key ways to control the spread of MRSA and other
bacteria is to monitor infection rates.
He said under new legislation in
(© MMVI, Medill News Service -