Nosocomial Infections a Real Problem

Who would have ever thought that when a person goes to hospital to
get better, they may come home and die of an infection they got while
they were in the hospital? Something entirely unrelated to why they
were there in the first place.

It’s it a bit of an irony that we all go to a doctor when we are
sick and expect them to help us, make us better or even fix whatever
the problem is in the first place. “How devastating it is when going to
the physician actually gives the patient a new threat to their health?
This isn’t as farfetched as it may sound. It actually happens every day
when people are discharged from the hospital,” said Michael G. Smith, a
Little Rock injury lawyer and Little Rock accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Many people are going home mostly recovered from what put them in the
hospital in the first place and subsequently becoming very ill with a
nosocomial infection. These infections are also called health care
associated infection or hospital acquired infection.

“This isn’t good news and having another bout of illness on the
heels of the first doesn’t do much for a person’s immune system. It
makes one wonder why they go to the doctor or hospital in the first
place if they are going to wind up sicker than they went in,” added
Smith.

Nosocomial infections are those picked up in the hospital
environment while in there for something else and are considered to be
a genuine nosocomial infection if appearing within 48 hours or more
after admission, or within 30 days after being discharged.

In the U.S. alone it’s estimated that one patient in ten gets a
nosocomial infection. That translates into about 2 million patients a
year and costs up to 11 billion to treat. These infections have also
been cited as being responsible for an average of 88,000 deaths a year.
“The most common nosocomial infections are pneumonias, infections of a
surgical sites, and urinary tract infections. Sadly, about 92% of the
deaths from hospital infections like this could be prevented,” Smith
explained.

For a stark and unusual example of nosocomial infection in action,
read the media reports of what is going on with the Cleveland Browns.
Evidently at least five of their players have contracted some kind of
infection that didn’t have a thing to do with the injury that sent them
to hospital. “The biggest thing here to be extremely wary of is
battling MRSA, otherwise referred to as methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus. In other words, it’s an infection that can’t be
treated with methicillin antibiotic which is a major problem since that
covers just about all the antibiotics used,” said Smith.

No matter how the individual contracted the nosocomial infection,
this is something that needs to be discussed with a skilled personal
injury lawyer. “Knowing what one’s rights are goes a long way toward
having the situation legally resolved in a fair and equitable manner,”
stated Michael G. Smith, a Little Rock injury lawyer and Little Rock accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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