Infections healthcare-acquired

The best measures of harm that we have, and apossible measurement model for patient safety in general (Burke, 2003), are rates of healthcare acquired infections. Most of these infections are preventable and are measured using standardized and well-validated systems and definitions. In the United States, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has set out standard definitions, and hospitals have created epidemiology and infection control departments to independently monitor, report and reduce infections. 

Erythromycin may cause increases in the semm levels of simvastatin. The CSM has advised that this should not be co-prescribed with simvastatin. In the first instance the pharmacist should check local policies for management of hospital acquired chest infections/pneumonia to ascertain first and second line choices. If erythromycin or any macrolide cannot be avoided then a practical way forward may be to avoid taking any dose of simvastatin for the duration of the course of macrolide. In addition a recent Dmg Safety Update from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA, 2008) on statins has highlighted statin dmg interactions and the appropriate actions to take. 

Invisible killers such as MRSA, Clostridium difficile, E-coli etc, are prevalent within the hospital environment. Current statistics put the instances of Hospital Acquired Infection at 300,000 per year. With an increasing ageing population there will be an increasing reliance on and need for healthcare. Apart from the contradiction of spreading secondary infection within a curative environment, there is an added cost to the health service due to Hospital Acquired Infections. 

Masks are used to prevent hospital healthcare workers from acquiring infections from splashes of blood and body fluid, and to reduce the transfer of potentially infectious body fluids in the sterile area. They are also used by coughing patients to try and prevent the spread of infections (AkaUn, Usta, Kocak, Ozen, 2010 Chughtai et al.,... 

According to the CDC, almost 1.7 million hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) occur yearly, contributing to approximately 99,000 deaths. Such infections were long accepted by clinicians as an inevitable hazard. Recent efforts demonstrate that simple measures can prevent the majority of common infections. Hospitals and providers must work to reduce the burden of these infections. Four specific infections account for more than 80 percent of all hospital-related infections. They are surgical site infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Preventing the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains an important infection control priority. Effective measures exist to prevent the most common healthcare-related infections. 

---