Medical Staff

Simple measures cut hospital infections

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, January 10, 2007

Basic steps by healthcare practitioners, such as hand washing and removing catheters in a timely manner, can reduce hospital infection rates, according to a new Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions study. The researchers also stated that placement of catheters in sites other than the groin is an effective way to reduce infections, according to a press release from Johns Hopkins announcing the study.

The study, published in the December 28 New England Journal of Medicine, followed 103 intensive care units in Michigan that implemented the following protocols and measures:

  • education on hand hygiene and infection control
  • a checklist of infection control standards
  • a standardized central-line cart
  • avoidance of placing catheters in the groin when possible

Overall, catheter-related infections in the study group dropped to zero from 2.7 per 1,000 catheter days, according to the press release.

To access the press release, click here.

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