# 4378
Although the media tends to focus primarily on dramatic events - like pandemics, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks – there are many far-more-common-yet-deadly health threats out there that put us at risk every day.
Nosocomial, or Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) are a prime example.
According to a new study, just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, just two of these infections (HAI sepsis and pneumonia) claim nearly 50,000 lives a year in the US alone.
The cost goes beyond the tragic loss of life, of course. There is pain and suffering, and an enormous economic cost as well. HAIs – many of which are preventable – take a terrible toll each year.
This has been one of the main subjects covered by Maryn McKenna on her terrific Superbug Blog. Her eagerly anticipated book on MRSA is due out late next month.
First a few excerpts from the abstract of this study, then on to a press release with more details.
Clinical and Economic Outcomes Attributable to Health Care–Associated Sepsis and Pneumonia
Michael R. Eber, BSE; Ramanan Laxminarayan, PhD, MPH; Eli N. Perencevich, MD, MS; Anup Malani, PhD, JD
Arch Intern Med. 2010;170(4):347-353.
Methods Hospital discharge records from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database were used to identify sepsis and pneumonia cases among 69 million discharges from hospitals in 40 US states between 1998 and 2006. Community-acquired infections were excluded using criteria adapted from previous studies. Because these criteria may not exclude all community-acquired infections, outcomes were examined separately for cases associated with invasive procedures, which were unlikely to result from preexisting infections.
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Results In cases associated with invasive surgery, attributable mean length of stay was 10.9 days, costs were $32 900, and mortality was 19.5% for sepsis; corresponding values for pneumonia were 14.0 days, $46 400, and 11.4%, respectively (P < .001). In cases not associated with invasive surgery, attributable mean length of stay, costs, and mortality were estimated to be 1.9 to 6.0 days, $5800 to $12 700, and 11.7% to 16.0% for sepsis and 3.7 to 9.7 days, $11 100 to $22 300, and 4.6% to 10.3% for pneumonia (P < .001).
The press release for this study is below, with more detail. You can also find more information on the Extending The Cure website.
New study shows sepsis and pneumonia caused by hospital-acquired infections kill 48,000 patients
Cost $8.1 billion to treat
Washington D.C. – Two common conditions caused by hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) killed 48,000 people and ramped up health care costs by $8.1 billion in 2006 alone, according to a study released today in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
This is the largest nationally representative study to date of the toll taken by sepsis and pneumonia, two conditions often caused by deadly microbes, including the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA. Such infections can lead to longer hospital stays, serious complications and even death.
"In many cases, these conditions could have been avoided with better infection control in hospitals," said Ramanan Laxminarayan, Ph.D., principal investigator for Extending the Cure, a project examining antibiotic resistance based at the Washington, D.C. think-tank Resources for the Future.
"Infections that are acquired during the course of a hospital stay cost the United States a staggering amount in terms of lives lost and health care costs," he said. "Hospitals and other health care providers must act now to protect patients from this growing menace."
