Hospital infection deaths soar

A hidden epidemic of life-threatening infections is contaminating America's hospitals, needlessly killing tens of thousands of patients each year.

These infections often are characterized by the health care industry as random and inevitable byproducts of lifesaving care. But a Tribune investigation found that in 2000, nearly three-quarters of the deadly infections — or about 75,000 — were preventable, the result of unsanitary facilities, germ-laden instruments and unwashed hands.

The industry's stance also obscures a disturbing trend: Infection rates are soaring nationally, exacerbated by hospital cutbacks and carelessness by doctors and nurses.

Deaths linked to hospital germs now represent the fourth-leading cause of mortality among Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospital infections often are preventable by adopting simple, inexpensive measures. Strict adherence to clean-hand policies alone could prevent the deaths of up to 20,000 patients each year, according to the CDC and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

"The number of people needlessly killed by hospital infections is unbelievable, but the public doesn't know anything about it," said Dr. Barry Farr, a leading infection-control expert and president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.