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https://theconversation.com/better-cleaning-of-hospital-equipment-could-cut-patient-infections-by-one-third-and-save-money-251917>
"Hospital-acquired infections are infections patients didn’t have when they
were admitted to hospital. The most common include wound infections after
surgery, urinary tract infections and pneumonia.
These can have a big impact for patients, often increasing their time in
hospital, requiring additional treatment and causing discomfort. Unfortunately,
some people who sustain an infection in hospital don’t recover. In Australia,
there are an estimated 7,500 deaths associated with hospital-acquired
infections annually.
It’s important to prevent such infections not only for the benefit of patients,
but also because of their cost to the health system and to reduce antibiotic
use.
Even though patients don’t usually come into contact with each other directly
in hospitals, there are many ways bacteria can be transmitted between patients.
Our own and other research suggests medical equipment (such as blood pressure
machines, dressing trolleys and drip stands) could be a common source of
infection.
In recent research, we’ve shown that by regularly disinfecting shared medical
equipment, we can help reduce infections picked up in hospitals – and save the
health system money."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
