Hospital-acquired infections are all-too common. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one-in-25 hospitalized patients will contract an infection, and approximately 75,000 will die each year as a result. Even if an infection is not lethal, it can increase the length of a patient’s hospitalization, significantly increase costs and lead to substantially poorer overall outcomes. UCLA has been taking steps to mitigate these risks.
“Many hospitalized patients are sicker than in years past. Perhaps they have undergone transplants or other treatments that suppress their immune system,” says Zachary Rubin, MD, an infectious disease specialist at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. “Because they are sicker, they are undergoing more invasive procedures, providing more opportunities for infections to spread.”
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