Dangerous hospital infections. What can you get infected?

Clostridium difficile, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa – sound like the names of creatures from another planet? In fact, they are one of the most common bacteria. In addition, the easiest way to catch them is in the hospital.

1. Over 40 percent nosocomial infections are caused by one pathogen – the bacterium Clostridium difficile. It causes ailments in the digestive system
2. How is it possible that germs and superbugs are spreading in a sterile hospital environment?
3. The biggest problem is treatment – many pathogens are resistant to drugs. Doctors have to look for combinations of different drugs, because more and more often even the so-called last resort antibiotics
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

As part of our campaign “We choose the truth”, we recall selected texts from TvoiLokona that influenced the reality around us. In the coming months, more articles from the series will be presented on the TvoiLokony home page. This text originally appeared on Onet in September 2019.

Hospital infections

We go to the hospital for help, we come back with the bacteria. And not just any – a superbug that is not affected by antibiotics. Unfortunately, this is how hospital stays end more and more often. In January, a patient who caught the drug-resistant New Dehli bacterium (Klebsiella pneumoniae) died in Łódź. The cause of death of three patients from the hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration in Warsaw was the same pathogen. The families of the deceased filed a lawsuit against the hospital – they accuse the facility of hiding the epidemic.

What can you get infected in hospital?

Over 40 percent nosocomial infections are caused by one pathogen – the bacterium Clostridium difficile. It causes digestive ailments such as diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Bacteria are very easy to transfer, and in hospitals they have ideal conditions for expansion – a lot of people, limited space, patients are immunocompromised. The GIS warns that C.difficile infections can be very serious. Treatment is long-term and there are cases of death.

Do you want to be tested for infection? Order a fecal mail-order test for the presence of Clostridium difficile strains via the Medonet Market platform.

One of the most dangerous bacteria is New Dehli.

New Dehli is deceptive – the symptoms of the infection resemble a cold or the flu. The patient complains of cough, chills, fever and weakness. New Dehli can cause pneumonia, but also serious infections of the urinary tract, wounds, bones and joints. Sepsis can occur as a result of infection. Klebsiella pneumoniae has become resistant to practically all antibiotics, therefore doctors are helpless in the face of the infection. On the ward, you can also “catch” a virus, such as influenza or norovirus. There are also fungal infections.

Why are nosocomial infections occurring?

How is it possible that sterile hospitals are breeding grounds for germs? Contrary to appearances, this paradox is very easy to explain, and many people will probably be surprised that in almost half of the cases of infections, the hospital is not to blame at all. Very often, a nosocomial infection results from the patient’s health – the bacteria that live in our body can cause a dangerous infection during hospital treatment. Post-operative wound infections caused by the patient’s bacterial flora are commonplace.

Germs also enter the hospital from the outside. Visitors bring them with them. Under normal conditions, you probably wouldn’t be worried about anything, but there are hundreds of patients in the hospital – after operations, procedures, with chronic diseases, with low immunity. For them, contact with a seemingly innocent cold virus can end in dangerous pneumonia.

Hospitals, despite restrictive standards and antiseptic procedures, are not able to eliminate all bacteria. Infections are also sometimes the result of negligence and mistakes, e.g. when decontaminating equipment, hospital linen and even hands. It happens that patients who should stay in isolated rooms do not have special conditions of hospitalization.

The photo shows Klebsiella pneumoniae

In 2018, the Supreme Audit Office checked the situation in Polish hospitals after an increase in infections among patients was recorded. In the conclusions, NIK indicated several possible reasons. One of them was the shortage of medical personnel, namely the small number of specialists in the field of microbiology and epidemiology. It was also pointed out that a bad financial situation translates into a shortage of qualified staff and unreliable performance of duties.

Also read: Hospitals are still drowning in debt. According to the Supreme Audit Office, the new system did not work

How to fight nosocomial infections?

Drug-resistant bacteria are a huge challenge for hospitals. When a patient becomes infected with such a pathogen, effective treatment is very difficult. Doctors have to look for combinations of different drugs, because more and more often even the so-called last resort antibiotics. It is also necessary to administer very large doses of drugs to patients, because smaller ones completely cannot cope with the infection.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest challenges facing medicine today. Unfortunately, the prognosis is not the best. Experts say that no antibacterial drug with an innovative mechanism of action will hit the market in the next 10 years. And that means we’re going to keep losing out to the superbugs that mutate at lightning speed and can become resistant to all drugs. Fighting nosocomial infections will be difficult, especially since we use too many antibiotics all the time. Bacteria already “know” them and are not afraid of them at all.

This may interest you:

1. Mutant germs attack. They are resistant to all drugs
2. The most dangerous bacteria in the world! They are resistant to antibiotics and kill millions of people
3. The new “super mushroom” is deadly. The drugs don’t work for him

For a long time you have not been able to find the cause of your ailments or are you still looking for it? Do you want to tell us your story or draw attention to a common health problem? Write to the address [email protected] #Together we can do more