Hospital infections: New studies find concerns for surgery patients and children

Jan 7, 2011 9:00 AM

Two studies out recently suggest that one infection is on the rise in hospitalized children, and several are increasing among patients who have to wait in the hospital for elective surgery.

Gastrointestinal infections in hospitalized children
Researchers who examined nearly 10.5 million medical records found that a particularly dangerous infection with a bacterium called clostridium difficile is on the rise in hospitalized children. The infection can inflame and damage the lining of the colon, leading to severe diarrhea. In the current study, published online in the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, the infection increased the risk of repeat hospitalization, surgery to remove all or part of the colon, and death. Previous research has found the infection is also becoming more common in adults, and is linked to the overuse of antibiotics as well as stomach acid-suppressing drugs used to prevent heartburn, which can wipe out good bacteria in the gut and foster the creation of more virulent strains of the bacterium.

Delaying surgery raises infection risk
In the second study, published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons in December, researchers looked at some 162,000 colon, heart, and lung surgeries and found that the rate of infection was about 6 percent in patients who had no delay, but rose to nearly 7 percent after one day, more than 9 percent after two to five days, and more than 18 percent after six to 10 days. Pneumonia and sepsis, a bloodstream infection, were most common. Delays for heart bypass surgery and colon resection also increased the risk of urinary-tract and surgical-site infections. Patients over 80, women, blacks, hispanics, and those with congestive heart failure, lung disease, and kidney failure faced the greatest risk of delay.

Bottom line
“Hospitals can prevent infections, in children and adults,” says Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project. And you can help, too. Here are some steps:

Use our hospital Ratings to see how hospitals near you perform in preventing blood-stream infections and how well they follow proper prevention measures.
Use our heart surgery ratings if you’re scheduled for heart bypass surgery. The ratings provide information about surgical groups that perform the procedure, including their surgical-infection rates.
Ask everyone who touches you—health-care providers and visitors alike—to please wash their hands first.
If you’re scheduled for elective surgery, ask if the hospital has any cases of clostridium difficile, and reschedule if there is an outbreak.
If you’re procedure is delayed, ask if you can go home until it’s rescheduled. If you must stay in the hospital, push to have the procedure as soon as possible. If necessary, ask a friend or relative to lobby on your behalf.
Limit your use of antibiotics to only those that are necessary. When you're taking antibiotics, consuming probiotics might help introduce good bugs back into your digestive tract.
If you learn that your suitemate is infected with clostridium difficile, “holler until they move you,” says McGiffert.

—Kevin McCarthy, associate editor

Read more about deadly hospital infections.