15,000 deaths from hospital infections

Hundreds of thousands of patients become infected annually in the hospital

03/10/2011

According to the information provided by the statutory health insurance companies, around 600,000 people in Germany become infected with dangerous germs during hospital stays every year - despite comprehensive hygiene regulations. About 15,000 people die each year from the consequences of a corresponding hospital infection, according to the information provided by the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) with reference to the figures of the Robert Koch Institute and the data of the Verband der Ersatzkassen.

The German Society for Hospital Hygiene (DGKH), the Society for Hygiene, Environmental Medicine and Preventive Medicine (GHUP) and the Federal Association of Physicians of the Public Health Service (BVÖGD) estimate the number of deaths due to hospital infections even at around 30,000 per year. The DGKH expert Klaus-Dieter Zastrow already declared in May this year that „At least four percent of the approximately 18 million patients in Germany, ie 720,000 people, are in the hospital with germs“ infect.

Multidrug-resistant pathogens cause hospital infections
In order to minimize the risk of infection in terms of the patients, the hospital staff is generally obliged to comply with certain hygiene regulations. However, the number of actual infections with multidrug-resistant pathogens suggests that hygiene regulations are sometimes neglected in hectic everyday hospital life. Patients repeatedly become infected with multidrug-resistant agents such as MRSA, VRE and ESBL during hospitalization, with the MRSA pathogens, multidrug-resistant bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus aureus (staphylococci) particularly frequently leading to serious complications and fatal infection courses. According to the DGKH, the fact that more and more pathogens develop resistance is mainly due to the improper use of antibiotics, whereas the transmission of the germs to the hospital patients is primarily caused by the lack of compliance with the hygiene regulations in the clinics.

Hygiene actions to improve the hospital
As reported by TK, in 2006 alone the MRSA pathogens caused around 14,000 dangerous infections in hospital patients. Since then, the number of MRSA infections has more than doubled in some states, according to the health insurance company. Although clinics are becoming increasingly aware of the problem, hundreds of thousands of patients still suffer hospital infections each year. Therefore, numerous clinics have been involved in the initiative for three years „Action Clean hands“ or similar programs that require physicians and nurses to comply with comprehensive hygiene rules such as hand washing before and after each patient contact. According to the information provided by the Techniker Krankenkasse in Mainz, almost all clinics in Rhineland-Palatinate have participated in the hygiene campaign. And to further improve hospital hygiene in the coming years, the Techniker Krankenkasse has also developed a ten-point catalog designed to significantly reduce the transmission of resistant pathogens. (Fp)

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Picture: Dr. Karl Herrmann