Infections

Infections can occur in any hospital and cannot be completely eliminated even with the best of care. Some infections are actually brought to the hospital by the patients. However, infections must be promptly and appropriately addressed by nurses and doctors.

Common hospital acquired infections are:

• MRSA - methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus - serious injuries and life-threatening disease, it is an advanced form of staph infection
• C. Diff - Clostridium difficile - this infection is a significant cause of colitis - like MRSA, the C. Diff bacteria infections are resistant to many antibiotics
• Bacteria - signs and symptoms of this type of infection, generally treatable with antibiotic therapy, include redness, hot to touch, swelling, pain and fever
• Viral - these types of pathogens or body invaders are generally systemic, meaning they populate inside body vessels, organs, tissues, including a deadly virus
• Pneumonia or respiratory disease which can be fatal, especially in older adults or if compromised by underlying infection such as AIDS or other immune deficiency

Infection medical malpractice is not necessarily contracting infections during an admission or inpatient stay in the hospital, but rather the failure to timely determine (as by blood culture) you have an infections, and properly treat such infection or pathogen as by antibiotic therapeutics.