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Infected and undocumented: Thousands of Canadians dying from hospital-acquired bugs ( Canada)
National Post ^ | January 19, 2015 | Tom Blackwell

Posted on 01/19/2015 6:01:48 AM PST by george76

Ms. Smith’s tragic demise was more dramatic than many cases of hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Necrotizing fasciitis is a frightening, but rare, complication. Still, about 8,000 Canadians a year die from bugs they contract in facilities meant to make them better, while many more see their hospital stay prolonged by such illness.

Yet after years of well-intentioned work and millions of dollars spent on combatting the scourge, the details and extent of the problem remain murky.

No national statistics, for instance, document the number of surgical-wound infections like Ms. Smith’s, one of the most common types of hospital-acquired pathogens.

A federal agency now publishes rates of sepsis, or blood infection, at individual hospitals, but their methodological value is a matter of debate. Government tracking of worrisome, drug-resistant bacteria is patchy and of questionable practical use, say infectious-disease physicians.

...

You could sit and call every hospital in the country, and ask them when was the last time they cleaned the sink in the [neonatal intensive care unit] and how they cleaned it, and you’d get nothing but blank stares

...

Then, sitting at her side 12 hours later, her brother Trevor Smith noticed a strange purple discolouring of his sister’s feet, the kind of “mottling” that can be a sign of imminent death, and raised the alarm.

Ms. Smith was soon being wheeled into the operating room, where the surgeons who opened her up first observed “a large effluent of brown, foul-smelling liquid from the abdominal cavity.” They removed several abscesses, drained the liquid, then discovered the worst — necrotizing fasciitis expanding through the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen) and abdominal muscles.

...

While not every surgical infection is preventable, “they can be dramatically minimized” with well-documented precautions,

(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...


TOPICS: Canada; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bloodinfection; canada; canadahospitals; fasciitis; hai; hospitals; infection; infections; necrotizing; pathogens; sepsis; superbugs

1 posted on 01/19/2015 6:01:49 AM PST by george76
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To: george76
National Health Care at its best!


2 posted on 01/19/2015 6:06:13 AM PST by BCW (ARMIS EXPOSCERE PACEM)
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To: BCW

Smug mug.


3 posted on 01/19/2015 6:08:55 AM PST by liberalh8ter (The only difference between flash mob 'urban yutes' and U.S. politicians is the hoodies.)
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To: george76

Although it’s difficult to get accurate numbers from hospitals, an estimated 100,000 patients die each year in the US from nosocomial infections. Another 10,000 die from medication errors.

That’s a lot for “the finest medical care in the world”.


4 posted on 01/19/2015 6:51:49 AM PST by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
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To: VanShuyten; Squawk 8888

This mess will get even worse with the pending flood of new illegals and ..


5 posted on 01/19/2015 6:56:30 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

And the real problem with Canadian zombies?
It’s really hard to tell if/when they’ve turned ...
heh


6 posted on 01/19/2015 7:18:42 AM PST by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives.)
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To: george76

Infectious disease depends on 2 major factors: the pathogen and the host.
Everyone always focuses on the pathogen. However, we shouldn’t ignore the host.
GMOs contain glycophates that have been associated with gut inflammation and leaky gut syndromes that cause various inflammatory GI disease that facilitate entry of pathogens into the bloodstream.
On the pathogen side, the overuse of antibiotics has resulted in mutations and antibiotic resistance.
If you are to have major surgery build yourself up nutritionally by increasing protein intake (whey protein), avoid GMOs and processed food and consider taking a probiotic and antibacterial supplements such as garlic (careful, can reduce blood clotting)


7 posted on 01/19/2015 7:49:40 AM PST by grumpygresh (Democrats & GOPe delenda est. President zero gave us patient zero.)
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To: george76

I never knew this but my sister told me that’s why they keep it so cold in the hospital and then rush you home as fast as possible because the hospital is terrified you will get an infection.


8 posted on 01/19/2015 8:13:05 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: george76; Clive; exg; Alberta's Child; albertabound; AntiKev; backhoe; Byron_the_Aussie; ...
To all- please ping me to Canadian topics.

Canada Ping!

9 posted on 01/19/2015 1:02:29 PM PST by Squawk 8888 (Will steal your comments & post them on Twitter)
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To: Georgia Girl 2

This happens even in very good hospitals and clinics in the U.S.

Drug resistant pathogens are a serious problem. I know two people who picked up C-Diff and one who became infected with necrotizing fasciitis while in the hospital.

It’s my understanding that if you are being treated with antibiotics you are at greater risk of acquiring one of these hospital borne diseases.


10 posted on 01/19/2015 1:42:53 PM PST by Pelham (WWIII. Islam vs the West)
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To: Pelham

Yes the best thing you can do is try to stay away from hospitals.


11 posted on 01/19/2015 2:18:59 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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