A Fresno hospital has been forced to stop performing open-heart surgeries while state public health authorities investigate a new surge in post-operative infections.
Last year, the CDC investigated bacterial infections that made at least a dozen patients at Saint Agnes Medical Center sick, and possibly contributed to two deaths. At the time, the CDC noted a surgeon with an abnormally high number of affected patients, but was unable to pinpoint a cause for the infections. Earlier this year, state health investigators found no health violations after inspecting the cardiac surgery unit.
The hospital is still performing emergency heart surgeries, but the California Department of Public Health recommended this weekend that the facility stop performing non-emergency procedures.
To learn more about the infections:
- read this piece [1] in the San Francisco Chronicle
Related Articles:
Bill would make U.S. hospital infection rates public [2]
"Bundles" help cut hospital infection rates [3]
VHA program fights hospital-acquired infections [4]
CT hospitals fight drug-resistant organisms [5]
Links:
[1] http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/27/state/n171802D50.DTL&type=health
[2] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/bill-would-make-u-s-hospital-infection-rates-public/2007-10-19
[3] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/bundles-help-cut-hospital-infection-rates/2008-01-16
[4] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/vha-program-fights-hospital-acquired-infections/2006-11-17
[5] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/ct-hospitals-fight-drug-resistant-organisms/2008-01-31