About 1 in 25 Patients Acquire Infections in the Hospital

April 10, 2014- In 2011, 1 out of 25 patients seeking medical treatment at hospitals acquired an infection while there, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients acquired about 721,800 infections at hospitals that year, according to the research. Of those infected, about 75,000 died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- although the study did not investigate how often an infection actually caused or contributed to the patient's death.

Pneumonia and surgical-site infections were the most common types of infection. Each one accounting for about 22 percent of all infections -- followed by gastrointestinal infections, urinary tract infections and infections of the bloodstream.

While highlighting the reality that too many people become infected when seeking medical treatment in hospitals, the study also shows progress from past estimates.

In 2002, there were an estimated 1.7 million health care-associated infections and 155,668 infected-patient deaths. In addition, bloodstream infections from central lines (lines inserted in the chest into a vein) dropped 44 percent between 2008 and 2012 -- a result, say experts, of requiring hospitals to follow a simple checklist of best practices.

However, C. difficile infections have become more severe in the past decade, and more bacteria are resistant to antibiotics.

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