Central Line Infections Are Preventable Through Use of Checklists
As medical malpractice lawyers in Indiana, we regularly track patient safety issues that affect our clients and readers. Consumer Reports magazine has published a comprehensive report on the deadly bloodstream infections that kill close to 30 percent of the 99,000 people who fall victim every year to hospital infections. The report outlines how hospitals around the country are seeing substantial success in minimizing their infection rates just by following simple safety steps included in a checklist.
Bloodstream infections, also known as central line infections, are contracted when bacteria contaminate the central lines that are used to deliver food and drugs to patients in intensive care. The central lines are far more convenient, and allow for faster delivery than IV lines, but this also means that any infection contracted through the central line spreads rapidly. Body stream infections can result in a conduction called sepsis, whose symptoms are a lot like flu (fevers, chills etc.) but much, much worse. These infections are very often fatal.
However, as the Consumers Report piece shows us, these rates can be brought under control. All it takes is for doctors, nurses and other professionals in charge of handling the central line to take some basic steps to prevent infections. A checklist developed by Peter Pronovost of John Hopkins, if followed stringently, can help prevent these infections.
The checklist isn’t exactly rocket science. It recommends
1. Washing hands well before handling the central line
2. Disinfecting the skin before touching it
3. Using all precautions while handling the patient. This includes wearing a mask, cap and sterile gloves and covering the patient’s body with a sterile sheet.
4. Removing any non-essential catheters
5. If possible, trying to avoid placing catheters in the groin region where they may be at a greater risk of infections
Preventing central line infections is not impossible. If fact, by following the checklist, many hospitals around the country have been able to bring down their infection rates by more than 66 percent.
If a loved one is in intensive care, you can increase his/her chances of avoiding a bloodstream infection by asking the doctors and nurses to follow the steps in the checklist.
The Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Theodoros and Rooth represent victims of surgical errors, misdiagnoses, emergency room errors, and other forms of negligence by doctors, nurses and other healthcare personnel.
