sepsis

Published on: July 26, 2023

Spinal Cord Injury Could Damage Immune System

Spinal cord injuries are serious personal injuries that can be caused after an auto accident. New research finds that these injuries, in addition to permanently impacting a person’s day to day functioning, can significantly damage a person’s immunity, exposing the patient to the risk of life-threatening infections.

A spinal cord injury can result from any kind of blow or serous impact to the spine. The impact does not have to include a fracture. A spinal cord injury can also be caused by crushing injuries or dislocation of the spine. For example, when a person is thrown about the inside of a car during an auto accident, she or he could suffer serious personal injuries to the spine. A motorcycle rider who is thrown off a motorcycle could land on the ground with force that is significant enough to fracture his spine. In fact, spine injuries are common in motorcycle accidents when a person is separated from the motorcycle.

The risk of paralysis is very serious after a spinal cord injury. These consequences of a spinal injury can also have a long term impact on a person’s health. A new study finds that a spinal injury may also trigger immunodeficiency syndrome. This condition can result in a loss of immunity, thereby exposing the person to the risk of infections. The study was conducted by researchers on 111 patients who had suffered spinal cord injury. They found that soon after a spinal cord injury, the number of antibodies in the body dropped. There was also a deactivation of the monocytes or white blood cells that are responsible for staving off infections.

Published on: July 31, 2019

Misdiagnosis is a Leading Cause of Medical Errors

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

When you go to a doctor for an illness, one of the basic assumptions you may have is that the physician will be able to correctly diagnose your condition and provide treatment. However, misdiagnosis or wrong diagnosis is one of the leading causes of medical errors. In fact, a new Johns Hopkins study confirms that wrong diagnoses, especially those related to the three most commonly misdiagnosed conditions, are a serious health concern in the United Sates.

The results of the study were published recently and confirm that a wrong diagnosis, or incorrect diagnosis, is the No. 1 cause of medical errors. The researchers attempted to identify the diseases that were involved in the majority of medical malpractice clams. The data was based on malpractice cases from between 2006 and 2015.

The researchers concluded that as many as 75 percent of diagnostic error cases involved the Big Three – vascular events, infections and cancer.

Published on: February 20, 2017

Enhanced Catheter Safety Helps Reduce Hospital Infections

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Improved safety measures associated with catheters are reducing the risk of contamination of central venous lines and fatal blood stream infections in hospitals.

According to a new study, when hospitals improve catheter safety, there is a significant reduction in the number of potentially fatal bloodstream infections, as well as a drop in health care costs. In the United States alone, more than 50,000 bloodstream infections every year are directly linked to the use of central lines or central venous catheters. Approximately 12% of these infections are fatal.The central lines are used in intensive care units to deliver nutrients and drugs directly to the patients’ bloodstreams. However, the risk of contamination during handling and changing of these catheters is very high. Any contamination of the catheter could quickly result in an infection, spreading quickly to a patient’s bloodstream through the central lines and causing complications.

However, since the spotlight on hospital-acquired infections has increased, many hospitals have moved to implement new safety measures that are designed to reduce the risk of catheter contamination. More hospitals have enforced policies that require staff members to use sterile gloves and other protective equipment during the handling of catheters. Some hospitals are also now training staff members in the proper use and management of catheters, and use of other equipment and supplies to prevent infections.

Published on: April 26, 2012

Risk of Infections from Bacterial Contamination of Pharmacy Robots — Medical Malpractice Claims Likely

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

An increasing number of hospitals around the country are making use of robotic drug dispensers that can prepare intravenous medications to be administered to patients, in a sterile environment.You don’t have to be an Atlanta medical malpractice attorney to know that when there is a risk of contamination of the intravenous medication, a patient could be at a high risk of infections.Contamination is exactly what researchers found when they inspected one of these robotic drug dispensers at a hospital.

The contamination was found by chance during a routine screening at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina.Hospital staff were conducting an inspection of the robotic drug dispensing machine, and found to their shock that there were cultures of Bacillus cereus bacteria in the dispenser. The researchers believe that is the very first time that there has been a known contamination of these robotic drug dispensers.

Fortunately, the researchers were able to conduct an inspection, based on quality assurance measures that were developed by the manufacturer of the robot.The contamination was found before it resulted in dangerous infections.Atlanta medical malpractice attorneysknow just how serious any infections caused by the Bacillus cereus organisms can be.