“Compared with patients with community-onset sepsis, patients with hospital-onset sepsis are twice as likely to require mechanical ventilation and ICU admission, have more than two times longer ICU and hospital length of stay, accrue five times higher hospital costs, and are twice as likely to die,” states Dr. Jennifer Ginestra, MD. Critical Care Medicine.
Greg Vigna, MD, JD, national pharmaceutical injury attorney, “Hospital-acquired bloodstream infections are caused by bacteria with increased resistance and increased ability to cause sepsis, organ failure, and multi-system failure. I have managed hundreds of patients who have suffered hospital-acquired sepsis and these are unique infections with the potential to cause lifetime disability and death.”
What else did Dr. Ginestra report in the article “Hospital-Onset Sepsis Warrants Expanded Investigation and Consideration as a Unique Clinical Entity” from Chest, February 4, 2024?
“Enterococcus, Candida, and Pseudomonas species are two times more common in HOS bacteremia.
Severity of illness is generally higher in patients with hospital onset sepsis, with a greater number of dysfunctional organ systems … than those with community onset sepsis.
Patients with hospital onset sepsis are less likely than those with community onset sepsis to receive CMS sepsis metric element compliant care, including timeliness of blood culture collection, initial and repeat lactate testing, and fluid resuscitation.
This group is also less likely to receive broad-spectrum antimicrobials within recommended timeframes, despite this being the most important CMS sepsis metric element associated with reduced mortality in hospital onset sepsis.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012369224000394
Dr. Vigna, “Hospital-acquired sepsis requires investigation as to the cause and whether or not the sepsis was managed by medical providers in a timely and appropriate fashion. This study shows that they are not. If sepsis was caused by an infected PICC line, midline, or other central line and hospitals are not using the super hydrophilic catheters that reduce bacterial colonization and blood clots, the manufacturers of these devices and the hospitals that use them are subject to the harm these defective devices cause.”
Dr. Vigna concludes, “This study shows that hospitals are failing as it relates to the identification of hospital-acquired sepsis and timely use of antibiotic treatment for patients who suffer from hospital-acquired bloodstream infections. We know that the manufacturers who continue to make profits by selling obsolete polyurethane and silicone PICC lines, midlines, and other central lines that don’t reduce the risk of central-line associated bloodstream infections and blood clots need to be litigated in court as the manufacturers have had plenty of time to move to safer alternative designs that reduce the substantial risks of disability and death from infected venous lines. Profits over patient safety cannot be the norm and we don’t accept it.”
What is sepsis? Multiple organ damage from inflammation because of 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.
To learn more, visit the PICC line help desk: https://vignalawgroup.com/powerport-venous-catheter/.
Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who represents those with serious injuries caused by defective medical devices including PICC lines and Med-Ports that lead to sepsis. 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.
