Hi, Dave--
Amen to all of that, but these are not just individual ³war story²
situations. Take a look at:
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=19018
http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/0208web/drugbug.html
http://www.webmd.com/news/20071016/more-us-deaths-from-mrsa-than-aids
http://patients.about.com/b/2008/02/07/mrsa-hospital-infections-and-a-perfec
t-storm.htm
http://firstwatch.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2006/925/1
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/magazine/24wwln_freak.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&o
ref=slogin&ref=health&adxnnlx=1226758332-7rmLnFs9FHKtpwZCi+wbYQ
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS168178+16-Sep-2008+PRN200809
16
To summarize, about 1.7 million people acquire nosocomial infections in
hospitals each year, and about 99,000 die. MRSA kills more people than AIDS
now. And it¹s not the only hospital-acquired infection.
For at least 10 years, the word has been out that hospitals (and nursing
homes) can improve the awful statistics by simply getting the staff to wash
hands, wear gloves, etc. The bottom link here shows a health care system
that reduced infections by 53 percent just by getting staff to do this.
Unfortunately, it¹s hard to change human nature, and the physicians are the
worst of all (way worse than nurses or other attendants). Some of the above
links show that they attempted to bribe the doctors with Starbucks lattes
and couldn¹t get the necessary compliance. Finally, they had some success
with a screen saver on all the hospital computers that shows a bacterial
culture of a doctor¹s hands.
Regards,
Dave S. (Demitri)
On 11/14/08 11:40 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Dave,
>
> A few years ago I broke my ankle the day before Thanksgiving while visiting
> in-laws in KY. My wife's family hadn't been together for Thanksgiving for
> quite a while. I just had to be the center of attention.
>
> The break was a tripod break (all three bones) and my foot moved five inches
> up the back of the leg. I was taken by ambulance to the local hospital where
> my mother in law begged me not to go because they might kill me. I received
> no pain medicine for over two hours. They were trying to find on the on-call
> surgeon who didn't answer his page. They finally decided to give me
> morphine. I had a feeling I should protest the morphine so I did. They
> decided to give me half a dose and as soon as they did my chest went tight, I
> had trouble breathing, and my heart began to flutter. It wasn't an allergic
> reaction just a very sensitive reaction. One nurse said to the other, "Good
> thing we didn't give him a full dose or we would have stopped his heart." To
> which I replied, "I can still hear you."
>
> I ended up at another hospital in KY for the surgery which went great.
> However, while having follow up care here in Baltimore I had a large, open
> fracture blister. When visiting the orthopedic doctor he had his assistant
> dress the blister. The assistant opened the gauze pad, dropped it on the
> floor, picked it up, and stuck it on my wound!!!!!! I was calm but suggested
> maybe we should put a bandage on that had not been on the floor. When I told
> the doc about it he said, "Well, we don't maintain a sterile environment in
> the office." No kidding! I did say it may not have been a serious thing
> but the appearance of it was worth considering.
>
> At shock trauma those people wash and sanitize their hands all the time and
> then put gloves on.
>
> Medical Horror Stories...got to love them.
>
> Dave T.
>
>
> **************
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