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Half of Hospital Stay Fatalities Caused by Sepsis
Researchers from Kaiser Permanente, a national health care organization, recently discovered that almost half of hospital deaths that occurred between 2010 through 2012 could be traced back to sepsis. Sepsis happens when the whole body responds to a bacterial infection. In many cases, the body’s reaction in order to fight the infection is so severe it can cause organs to shut down, resulting in death.
The study examined over 7 million adult hospitalizations between 2010 and 2012. There were approximately 500,000 cases that were taken directly from Kaiser facilities, however, the remaining 6.5 million cases came from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS).
The research team not only examined patient records that were clearly identified as having sepsis, but also patients who were reported to have both organ failure and infections. This was done in light of the fact that many medical personnel do not recognize sepsis symptoms.
Elderly Patients at High Risk for Medical Injuries
When we do to the doctor or hospital because we are sick or injured, we put our trust into the physicians and other medical personnel that the treatment and care they give us will make us well, or at the very least, comfortable. What we do not anticipate is that the care we receive will actually cause more medical issues or be dangerous. But for many elderly patients, that is exactly what happens.
A study that was recently conducted by researchers at the Gerontology Program at Towson University in Maryland revealed that one in five elderly Medicare patients sustain injuries that frequently have nothing to do with the medical problems they are being treated for. Some of the more common injuries include being prescribed medication that causes allergic reactions, being given the wrong medication or having treatments for an illness which causes other medical problems other than the original diagnosis.
One in Four Biopsy Results Could be Incorrect
For many women, having their annual or bi-annual mammogram done and waiting for the results can be somewhat stressful. That stress often turns into fear when the tests show that there is the possibility of the presence of breast cancer. This diagnosis followed by a biopsy to determine whether or not there is cancer present. However, a new study has concluded that many of these biopsy results are actually inaccurate. Those inaccurate diagnoses, which are used to determine what course of treatment should be given, could potentially be causing patients to undergo unnecessary treatments, causing other medical issues.
There are three different types of biopsies which are used by doctors to determine if a patient has breast cancer. When a doctor suspects that a breast lump is filled with fluid, they will usually perform a fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. If the lump is only a cyst, then it will typically collapse as the fluid is removed by the needle.
Study Offers New Hope for Female Stroke Victims
A new study has found that administering uric acid, along with the usual clot-busting medication, to women who have suffered strokes, increases their chance of recovering without suffering from disabilities as a result of the stroke.
The researchers found that the uric acid limits brain damage from the stroke. In the study, 42 percent of women who were given both the uric acid and the clot-busting medications were free of any significant disabilities just three months after suffering their stroke. Only 29 percent of female patients who were given just the clot-busting medication showed no signs of significant disabilities in the three months following their stroke.
For men who participated in the study, there was no significant difference in recovery between the patients who received the combination of the acid and medication and those who only received the medication. In all, there were more than 400 stroke patients who participated in the study.
New Report Addresses Frequency of Diagnostic Errors
According to a recent report from the same organization that put together the groundbreaking 1999 “To Err is Human” report, most people will deal with at least one medical diagnostic error in their lifetime– errors which can prove to be dangerous, if not fatal. These errors include either a late diagnosis or one which is totally incorrect.
The report, titled “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care,” was organized by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (IOM).
In preparing the report, researchers determined that there are approximately 12 million patients who receive an incorrect or late diagnosis each year. The report also found that the number of these errors will probably increase due to the processes that are currently in place throughout the healthcare system.
Some of the other findings of the report include:
Statute of Limitations vs. Statute of Repose in Illinois Malpractice Cases
An Illinois appeals court has ruled that families of plaintiffs who die with a pending medical malpractice lawsuit can add a wrongful death claim to the lawsuit. As one might expect, such an addition is possible if the death is alleged to be related to the action in question in the original malpractice suit.
The case was heard by the three-judge panel, and involved an Illinois woman who was being treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center and several of its affiliates, as well as two other medical centers, between the years 2007 through July 2009. In 2011, the woman filed a lawsuit against all parties, alleging that they failed to diagnose her condition as central nervous system lymphoma. The filing of the lawsuit was within the two-year statute of limitations, as well as the four-year statute of repose required by the state of Illinois.
Filing Limitations
Study: Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
In 1999, the medical community was rocked by a report prepared by Institute of Medicine which classified the problem of medical errors as an epidemic. That report concluded that approximately 95,000 people died each year from preventable medical mistakes. The annual cost to medical facilities was determined to be between $17 billion and $29 billion. Although the Institute of Medicine’s report inspired much debate over the years regarding what could be done to protect patients, a new report – prepared by researchers from John Hopkins University - found that the medical community may not have had too much success and preventable medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in this country.
Unlike the 1999 report, which only used data from one study, the new report used information collected from four major studies. Two of these studies were from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, during the years 2000 to 2008.
Illinois Passes Gabby’s Law Regarding Sepsis
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has signed a new law which will require hospitals to take a more proactive approach to recognizing and treating patients who develop sepsis. When a person comes down with an infection, the body can sometimes have a “toxic response” to that infection. Such a response is known as sepsis.
Senate Bill 2403, also known as Gabby’s Law, reads in part:
“Each hospital shall adopt evidence-based protocols for the early recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock that are based on generally accepted standards of care. It requires the protocols contain certain components, including those specific to identifying and treating adults and children.”
The Need for Action
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.5 million people develop sepsis. It is responsible for the deaths of almost 260,000 people every year in this country. It has been ranked as the ninth-leading cause of deaths caused by disease, killing more people than AIDS, breast cancer, and prostate cancer combined.
Birth Injuries and Birth Defects: Who Is Responsible?
One of the most exciting times in a couple’s life is when they are expecting a child. Picking out a name, decorating the nursery, picking out baby clothes – all the planning that must be done to prepare for the baby’s arrival. Whether it is a couple’s first baby or their fourth, there is often some apprehension and worry over whether or not the baby will be okay, but there is also usually confidence that the doctor and medical staff will do everything to ensure a safe delivery and a healthy baby.
Tragically, that is not always the case and there are many babies who are born with serious medical conditions or injuries – or even more tragically – do not survive those injuries. When this happens, how do the bereaved parents know if it was something that the doctor had no control over or if the injury or issue was in fact caused by something the doctor did or failed to do? Was it a birth defect or a birth injury?
FDA Warns of Link Between Breast Implants and Cancer
A new statement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning women of a link between breast implants and a certain type of cancer. According to national statistics, approximately 300,000 women receive breast implants each year, making the surgery one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures in the country.
According to the warning issued by the FDA, as of February 1, 2017, they had received 359 reports of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), which is cancer of the immune system, that were linked to breast implants. In nine of the reports, the women had died. The majority of the reported cancers—203—were women who had been implanted with textured implants. The other 28 women had received smooth implants.
The FDA also reported that 312 of the reports specified what type of fill was used in the implants of the women who developed ALCL. Silicone gel was used in 186 of the reports and saline was used in 126 of the reports.
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9631 W. 153rd St., Suite 32, Orland Park, IL 60462
708-966-2408
