“The results of this study, based on a contemporary cohort, confirm that proven sepsis has a major impact on neurodevelopmental outcome, independent of other risk factors,” states Dr. Luregn Schlapbach, NICU, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
What did Dr. Schlapbach’s report in “Impact of Sepsis on Neurodevelopmental Outcome in a Swiss National Cohort of Extremely Premature Infants” published in Pediatrics, August 2011 further share?
“This was a multicenter Swiss cohort study on infants born between 2000 and 2007 at 24 to 27 6/7 weeks gestational age.
Multivariable analysis confirmed that proven sepsis independently increased the risk of cerebral palsy and neurodevelopmental impairment.
Cerebral palsy occurred in 14 of 136 (10%) infants with proven sepsis compared with 10 of 236 (4%) uninfected infants.
Neurodevelopmental impairment occurred in 46 of 134 (34%) infants with proven sepsis compared with 55 of 235 (23%) uninfected infants.”
Read Dr. Schlapbach’s article: https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/128/2/e348/30626/Impact-of-Sepsis-on-Neurodevelopmental-Outcome-in
Dr. Greg Vigna, national line sepsis attorney, states, “Knowing that neonatal sepsis leads to long-term disability, including cerebral palsy, there is no justification for using polyurethane PICC lines and other polyurethane central lines, as they do nothing to prevent bacterial adhesion to the catheter tubing that leads to bacterial colonization and infection of the line. Line sepsis makes up about 1/3 of hospital-acquired infections.”
Dr. Vigna continues, “There are safer alternative designs for the line or tubing that substantially reduce the risk of infection and blood clots.”
What is sepsis? Multiple organ damage from inflammation as a result of an infection that may result in organ damage to the brain, kidney, heart, liver, and lung.
What is septic shock? A life-threatening condition that causes dangerously low blood pressure because of infection that may result in amputations of fingers and toes, brain damage, kidney failure, ventilator dependence, oxygen dependence, and nerve damage.
Dr. Vigna concludes, “An overwhelming majority of PICC lines, central lines, and midlines on the market are defective. There is no justification for the use of old, obsolete, polyurethane PICC lines or other central lines that are not designed to reduce the risk of infections. Cerebral palsy and other chronic neurological injuries are occurring in patients of all ages.”
Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who represents those with serious injuries caused by defective medical devices including PICC lines, midlines, central lines, and MedPorts. He represents the injured with the Ben Martin Law Group, a national pharmaceutical injury law firm in Dallas, Texas. The attorneys are product liability and medical malpractice attorneys, and they represent the most injured across the country.
