Study: Simple steps can cut ICU infections

A new study by research with Johns Hopkins suggests that hospitals can cut catheter-related blood infections in ICUs meaningfully by using simple, common sense infection control practices. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins' Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care studied data fro 103 Michigan ICUs before, during and after those ICUs implemented new practices to lower the risk of infections. Their intent was to see whether the hospitals would find protocols which could help reduce the 80,000 infections and 28,000 deaths that occur each year in the United States. Through the analysis, the researchers determined several steps that might help in slashing infection risks, including having staff trained in infection control measures, conducting routine hand washing, using sites other than the difficult-to-sterilize groin area for catheters, wearing masks, gloves and gowns during line placement, cleaning a patient's skin with chlorhexidine, using specialized central-line supply cards for only one use and removing unneeded catheters promptly.

This study echoes several others which suggest that relatively straightforward steps can reduce the risk of serious hospital-acquired infections. Given how effective and simple these steps appear to be, I'd like to learn why they're not more uniformly applied. Perhaps there's some level on which standard ICU protocols for managing, say, catheterized patients actually provide a disincentive to be more thorough on infection control procedures. If you're working in an ICU, I'd love if you'd write to me and let me know what you think the stumbling blocks are in getting some of these practices into place.

To find out what measures researchers suggest:
- read this United Press International piece

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