Hospitals faulted for infections

ORLANDO, Fla. – Hospitals nationwide are contributing to the illnesses and deaths of thousands of people every year by failing to follow basic procedures to reduce chances of infection, according to a study released Monday.

Every year, 90,000 Americans die from infections they pick up in the hospital. The second most frequent infection site is the surgical incision.

The study focused on whether doctors are giving patients antibiotics within 60 minutes of surgery.

They found that nearly 44 percent of 34,133 patients who were tracked did not receive the medication within that 60-minute target zone. Almost 10 percent didn’t get a dose until four hours after the operation had begun.

While most patients received antibiotics, doctors have known since the 1960s that the drugs are most effective within the one-hour window.

The study was done by the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality at Medicare’s request, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and others. It was published in Archives of Surgery.