“Routine Hospital Onset-Acquired Sepsis Event surveillance could complement current Hospital Acquired Infections measures, improve the efficiency and objectivity of surveillance, and provide a broader window into serious nosocomial infections” states Dr. Brady Page, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital.
What else did Dr. Brady Page report in “Surveillance for Healthcare-Associated Infections: Hospital-Onset Adult Sepsis Events Versus Current Reportable Conditions” published in Clinical Infections Diseases, 2021: 73 (15 September)?
“The most common reportable Hospital Acquired Infections associated with Hospital Onset-Adult Sepsis Event were Central-Line Associated Blood Stream Infections (6.0% of Hospital Onset-Adult Sepsis Event)
Among the 1,260 patients with reportable Hospital Acquired Infections, 334 (26.5%) had a Hospital Onset-Adult Sepsis Event; the highest rates of Hospital Onset-Adult Sepsis Event were observed among those with Central-Line Associated Blood Stream Infections (53.3%)
The in-hospital mortality rate was 27% (for those with Hospital Onset-Adult Sepsis Event).”
Read Dr. Brady Page’s article: https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/73/6/1013/6199845
Dr. Greg Vigna, national sepsis attorney, states, “Dr. Brady Page’s article is important because it shows that hospital-acquired sepsis has very high mortality rates but is often not captured by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) requirements described by the Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network’s for reporting hospital-acquired infections. Most importantly, it shows that the preventable infections caused by old, obsolete, polyurethane PICC lines and other central lines are a significant cause of hospital sepsis which can be prevented with the safer designs of PICC lines that are super hydrophilic, which substantially reduce the bacterial adhesion to the catheter tubing which prevents colonization of bacteria on the line and then leads to bloodstream infection.”
Dr. Vigna adds, “Central-line associated bloodstream infections and other PICC line infections are serious complications. An overwhelming majority of PICC lines, dialysis catheters, and other central lines on the market are defective because the polyurethane tubing that goes into the vein does not reduce the risk of infections.”
Dr. Vigna concludes, “There are safer alternative designs for PICC lines, midlines, central lines, and dialysis catheters that substantially reduce the risk of infection and blood clots.”
What is sepsis? Multiple organ damage from inflammation as a result of infection that may result in organ damage to the brain, kidney, heart, liver, and lungs.
What is septic shock? A life-threatening condition that causes dangerously low blood pressure due to an infection that may result in amputations of fingers and toes, brain damage, kidney failure, ventilator dependence, oxygen dependence, and nerve damage.
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, dialysis catheters, 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.
