Doctors Narrow In On Increasing Infections In Hospitals

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — Doctors now understand why so many patients in California hospitals are coming down with dangerous infections. They say it’s a bacteria that is causing the problem, and it is easy to prevent it.

“It continues to be an epidemic,” said Anton Bilchik. The gastrointestinal surgeon was talking about a bacteria called C. Difficile or C. Diff.

A report by the California Department of Public Health released Wednesday said you can blame it for the rising infection rates in California hospitals. The numbers show almost a 10 percent jump in three years.

“It can be a devastating problem. It ranges from diarrhea. It’s the most common cause of of diarrhea in hospitals, to perforation and rupture and death,” Bilchik said.

The report said the number of C. Diff cases outnumbers any other type of infection patients commonly get, including MRSA.

Bilchik said: “What’s so frustrating about it is that it’s completely preventable.”

The doctor said one of the biggest reasons C. Diff infections are common is because people in the hospital simply aren’t washing their hands after using the restroom or aren’t washing them properly.

He said soap and water are fine. But the best way to stop the spread is to use anti-bacterial gel located all over hospitals and in every patient room.

The overuse of antibiotics is the other big problem. That’s because the antibiotics kill good bacteria that would normally help fight the infection. Belchik said that has led to changes.

“If patients are kept on antibiotics for too long, we have to justify that. The kinds of antibiotic that we’re using are now being more tightly controlled,” the physician said. “We need to be much more aware of the fact that antibiotics can be dangerous.”

Via CBS News