Hospital Infections in US Continue to Rise

20 April 2010

There are different measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of infections after surgery

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Hospitals not only treat infections -- they can also cause them.

In the United States alone, the number of infections in hospitals is estimated at close to two million each year. About one hundred thousand patients die.

A new government report notes that very little progress has been made in reducing what are called health care-associated infections. The most common are infections of the urinary tract, surgical site and bloodstream.

Many infections have been increasing even as hospitals have made efforts to improve. The report shows, for example, an eight percent increase in cases of sepsis, or bloodstream infection, following operations.

About forty percent of all health care-associated infections are linked to the use of catheters. A tube is placed inside the body to collect urine, so the patient does not have to get out of bed.

But the latest report says urinary tract infections after surgery increased more than three and a half percent. It says catheters should be used only if necessary.

Another way to prevent infections is to give patients antibiotics before surgery. Doctors are advised to give them within the hour before the operation. Patients who get antibiotics earlier than one hour are more likely to get an infected surgical wound.