Hospitals Fight For Sanitation
The threat
of sepsis is a major problem plaguing hospitals and while most people have
never heard of sepsis, septicemia or septic shock, health care providers
know it can stalk a hospital.
The Denver Post,
in a profile of a Littleton man who nearly died after contracting sepsis
following surgery to repair injuries from a motorcycle accident, says it
is estimated up to three-quarters of a million people a year come down
with some kind of sepsis, most contracting it in emergency rooms.
The number of
deaths officially is put at about 32,000 per year, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, but many claim the number
actually is higher -- possibly more than 200,000.
Severe sepsis
is defined as a massive infection that sets off chemical reactions that
can cause vital organs to shut down. Patients who contract a form of sepsis
have no better than a 50-50 chance of survival.
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Copyright 2003 by United
Press International.
All rights reserved.
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