Medical Devices Pose Big Infection Threat

Technology can also greatly influence catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). The addition of a Foley catheter with drug eluting technology, for instance, can reduce the incidence of CAUTIs, according to James Carper, a Rochester Medical Corporation spokesman.

“The ReleaseNF Anti-Infection Foley catheter from Rochester Medical elutes the non-systemic antimicrobial nitrofurazone and is clinically proven to reduce the incidence of CAUTI even when compared to standard all silicone catheters,” Carper says. “It is also the only Foley catheter with an indication for reducing bacterial CAUTI.”

Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

Most healthcare workers are well acquainted with the high stakes of VAP. Several prevention guidelines exist but are not followed as often as they should, since VAP remains one of the most common nosocomial infections. It increases the average patient’s hospital stay by an average of 4.3 days, costs between $5,800-$20,000 per incidence, and mortality rates range from 20 percent to 70 percent.⁴

According to CDC authors of the paper “Best-practice protocols: VAP prevention,” VAP patients exhibit at least three out of the five symptoms: fever, leukocytosis, change in sputum (color and/or amount), radiographic evidence of new or progressive infiltrates, and worsening oxygen requirements.