GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Hand-washing is our greatest
weapon in the fight against hospital-acquired infections, but a recent study
found hospital workers wash their hands less than 50-percent of the time
after direct contact with patients. Guidelines and quality checks work to a
point, but researchers are turning to the first-ever real-time monitoring
system for hand-washing.
Gregory Gardner thought his father was out of the woods after a successful
colon cancer operation until a five-month battle with the infection c-diff
took his life. "It left a big empty space,” Gardner told Ivanhoe.
Pat Mastors also lost her father to a hospital-acquired infection. "He went
in for neck surgery, and two days after the surgery, his intestines
ruptured,” Mastors
Explained to Ivanhoe.
They're one of 99-thousand Americans who die from the infections each year.
Deaths that experts say are far too preventable. "Conservative estimates
indicate that the cost of hospital-acquired infections is at least $30
billion per year in the United States,” Don Dennis, MD, professor for the
departments of anesthesiology, pharmacology and psychiatry at the University
of Florida in Gainesville told Ivanhoe. “About half of the infections are
attributable to improper hand-washing."
To help remedy the problem, researchers are testing a technology inspired by
alcohol detection tests that sniffs out good hand hygiene. After a nurse or
doctor washes their hands, a sensor communicates with a special badge. When
they get within five feet of a patient, a monitor near the bed reads the
badge and flashes green. If they pass the 90-second window before seeing a
patient, the badge vibrates.
"The idea is that as soon as you wash your hands, you go immediately into
the care of the patient,” Richard J. Melker, M.D., Ph.D., professor of
anesthesiology, pediatrics and biomedical engineering at the University of
Florida in Gainesville explained to Ivanhoe.
Healthcare workers report the system is making a difference. For some,
change comes too late. "I wouldn't want to see any other family go through
what we went through,” Gardner said.
"We don't deserve to die from infections,” Mastors said.
It is working to make hospitals places of healing, not hurting. The
soap-sniffing technology just went on the market in October. In the future,
developers hope to put it into use at nursing homes and restaurants to slow
the spread of bacteria and infection. One of the dirtiest places in the
hospital might be on your doctor's tie. One study found almost half of ties
worn by clinicians harbored disease-causing bacteria.
Source : Ivanhoe Newswire
