CDC Releases Report on Hospital-Related Infections
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Pixland/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) — The government says that about four percent of hospital patients contract an infection during the time they spend getting cared for.
Yet, things are moving in the right direction with significant decreases of certain infections, according to data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Overall, about 648,000 patients had at least one infection directly related to a hospital stay in 2011. Of the one in 25 people who get sick, about 11 percent actually die from the infection.
The top infections contacted during hospitalizations are in this order: pneumonia, surgical site infections after an operation, gastrointestinal infections and urinary tract infections.
Meanwhile, bloodstream infections dropped 44 percent over a five-year span while infections related to certain surgical procedures fell 20 percent from 2008 through 2012.
As a result of the findings, health officials are working harder to locate and improve hospital areas and facilities to prevent the various infections.
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