Based on the results of a recently released study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control are recommending specific prevention guidelines, intended to reduce kidney dialysis-related infection rates by 32 percent. According to a story on Examiner.com, the CDC estimates that about 380,000 Americans undergo kidney dialysis every year.
While dialysis patients depend on it for their lives, the procedure itself can present some potentially deadly health hazards – including some that may be preventable.
For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating allegations that Fresenius, a German company that is the largest operator of dialysis centers in the United States, may have concealed links between its Granuflo product and cardiac arrest.
In November, 2011, the company issued a warning to doctors in its own clinics, informing them that nearly 1,000 of their patients had suffered cardiac arrest, and that GranuFlo was the likely cause. But Fresenius didn’t share that information with other clinics using its products until March, 2012, after an anonymous tipster notified the FDA of the in-house warning.
The Examiner.com story says bloodstream infections related to the patient’s central line, which is a direct connection to a large vein in the neck or chest, are a critical concern for both outpatient treatment centers and hospitals. Patients receiving dialysis are 100 times more likely to get a potentially deadly infection from common bacteria called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus than any other patients.
The CDC and its partners developed core interventions to prevent those infections, which yielded a 32 percent decrease, according to the study. Those interventions included caregiver education, correct use of antiseptics at the central line site, continual monitoring of staff hygiene practices and elimination of the use of a catheter at the earliest opportunity.
You should consult with a doctor before making any change in your medical care. If you or a loved one have suffered injury or death after kidney dialysis, contact Lopez McHugh for a free consultation; we can help determine if GranuFlo was used.
See the story here:
https://www.examiner.com/article/reducing-kidney-dialysis-bloodstream-infections
See more about the study here:
https://www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386%2813%2900667-7/abstract
