A Patient's Guide to Reducing the Risk of Hospital-Acquired Infections

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that two million people a year contract nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections. In 1993, I was one of those patients after I found myself in the hospital with an intestinal blockage and the need for emergency surgery. As a seasoned surgery veteran and a licensed nurse, which included a mandatory rotation through the O.R., I thought it odd that the operating room was extremely warm in temperature.

A warm O.R. coupled with my weakened immune system from the immuosuppressant medication I was taking for my Crohn's Disease made me a prime candidate for contracting an infection. Within hours after the surgery, my temperature spiked. Luckily, they caught the infection early and promptly started me on an intravenous course of antibiotics, while my six-inch long, three-inch deep incision was re-opened and packed three times a day with antibiotic soaked gauze. What should have been a five to seven day hospital stay lasted a month. When I'd regained a bit more of my mental faculties, one of the nurses and my husband both informed me of how close to death I'd come.

It's estimated that 90,000 out of the 2 million die each year from their infections. That's more deaths than from homicides and auto accidents combined. 1.9 million contract nosocomial infections that do not result in death, but the infections extend hospital stays one to thirty days longer. All in all, around 5-10% of hospital patients will contract hospital-acquired infections each year.

The most common nosocomial infections are septicemia, respiratory tract infections and staph infections. These infections usually begin at, but are not limited to, urinary catheters, intravenous cannulas, and surgical incisions.