Hospital-acquired infection preventable

ATLANTA, March 1 (UPI) -- Patient infections don't have to be a "way of life" in hospitals as some in healthcare have said, U.S. health officials say.

Bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients with central line infections -- a tube usually placed in a large vein of a patient's neck or chest to deliver treatment in an intensive care unit -- decreased by 58 percent in 2009 compared with 2001, a Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

During the nine-year study, the decrease in infections patients got while in the hospital amounted to 27,000 lives saved and $1.8 billion in excess healthcare costs, the study says.

In the last decade, studies proved that healthcare providers can prevent most central-line bloodstream infections by following CDC infection control recommendations, which include removing central lines as soon as medically appropriate and maintaining sterile conditions.

"Preventing bloodstream infections is not only possible, it should be expected. Meticulous insertion and care of the central line by all members of the clinical care team including doctors, nurses and others at the bedside is essential," Dr Thomas R. Frieden, director of the CDC, said in a statement.

"The next step is to apply what we've learned from this to other health care settings and other healthcare-associated conditions, so that all patients are protected."