Preventable infections are out of control in Canadian hospitals
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
Canadian hospitals are failing to control infections resistant to antibiotics. These kill 8000 patients and cost healthcare systems at least $C100m (￡40m; $80m; 63m) a year. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in a news investigation, has said that the incidence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has increased 10-fold in less than a decade (www.cbc.ca/news, 21 March). It also said that since 2003 Clostridium difficile has killed more than 600 people in Quebec province alone.
If cases of necrotising fasciitis, the third most common hospital infection, are added, more than 250 000 Canadians are getting ill from preventable infections every year, says the corporation.
Canadian hospitals have fewer regulations for controlling infection than restaurants, says the broadcaster. Many hospitals do not even have the required minimum number of staff needed to combat infections. The government does not monitor hospitals' infection controls. Restaurants, though, must pass regular inspections or face closure.
Luke Day, who died from methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus at Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk, England, aged 36 hours
Credit: PA/EMPICS
Quebec's government has recently announced an increase of $C20m in funds for hospital infection control. Preliminary findings showed that C difficile infections in the province's hospitals had dropped substantially from the previous year ( BMJ 2005;330: 275, 5 Feb).
Andrew Simor, head of the microbiology department at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital, says that one study shows that each patient infected with MRSA costs a hospital on average about $C14 000 ( Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 2001;22: 99-104). Projecting this bill across the whole country indicates that the cost of MRSA in Canadian hospitals alone would approach $C100m a year. Infection control should be a priority, with a minimum set of standards all hospitals must follow, said Dr Simor.
Donald Low, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, says that Canada is on the verge of a crisis in controlling preventable infections. He agrees with Dr Simor that hospitals should be forced to meet national standards and report outbreaks to health officials.
In the United Kingdom, an inquiry was launched at Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk, after tests showed that Luke Day, a 2 day old boy who died in February, had septicaemia caused by MRSA. Recent UK government figures showed that there were 3519 MRSA infections between April and September 2004, down from 3574 in the same period in 2003 (www.dh.gov.uk).(David Spurgeon)
If cases of necrotising fasciitis, the third most common hospital infection, are added, more than 250 000 Canadians are getting ill from preventable infections every year, says the corporation.
Canadian hospitals have fewer regulations for controlling infection than restaurants, says the broadcaster. Many hospitals do not even have the required minimum number of staff needed to combat infections. The government does not monitor hospitals' infection controls. Restaurants, though, must pass regular inspections or face closure.
Luke Day, who died from methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus at Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk, England, aged 36 hours
Credit: PA/EMPICS
Quebec's government has recently announced an increase of $C20m in funds for hospital infection control. Preliminary findings showed that C difficile infections in the province's hospitals had dropped substantially from the previous year ( BMJ 2005;330: 275, 5 Feb).
Andrew Simor, head of the microbiology department at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital, says that one study shows that each patient infected with MRSA costs a hospital on average about $C14 000 ( Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 2001;22: 99-104). Projecting this bill across the whole country indicates that the cost of MRSA in Canadian hospitals alone would approach $C100m a year. Infection control should be a priority, with a minimum set of standards all hospitals must follow, said Dr Simor.
Donald Low, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, says that Canada is on the verge of a crisis in controlling preventable infections. He agrees with Dr Simor that hospitals should be forced to meet national standards and report outbreaks to health officials.
In the United Kingdom, an inquiry was launched at Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk, after tests showed that Luke Day, a 2 day old boy who died in February, had septicaemia caused by MRSA. Recent UK government figures showed that there were 3519 MRSA infections between April and September 2004, down from 3574 in the same period in 2003 (www.dh.gov.uk).(David Spurgeon)