Every year 30,000 deaths from hospital infections

Number of hospital infections significantly higher than previously thought: 30,000 deaths annually from hospital germs

09/05/2011

The risk of infection with dangerous hospital germs is too high in German hospitals. Therefore, the federal government has launched a bill that should help to improve the hygiene situation in hospitals significantly and so reduce the risk of infection to a reasonable level.

At the presentation of the bill to reduce the risk of infection in German hospitals, the black-yellow federal government has so far from about 400,000 to 600,000 hospital infections and 7,500 to 15,000 deaths annually. Part of this „Infections and deaths can be prevented by appropriate preventive measures“, so the wording in the bill from CDU / CSU and FDP. But apparently the federal government has always been based on the wrong figures in their deliberations. For in a statement addressed to the health committee of the Bundestag statement of German medical organizations, the annual death toll is twice as high as previously stated.

Hospital infections require 30,000 lives every year across Germany
According to information from 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), 30,000 people die every year in Germany from an infection with so-called hospital germs. Overall, the risk of infection in hospitals is considerably higher than previously thought, report the medical organizations. Contrary to the assumptions of the Federal Government, experts such as Klaus-Dieter Zastrow from the German Society for Hospital Hygiene are of the opinion that „At least four percent of the approximately 18 million patients in Germany, ie 720,000 people, are in the hospital with germs“ infect. „We suspect that it is even more like five percent. That would be 900,000 infections“, Zastrow emphasized. In contrast, the maximum of 600,000 hospital infections discussed by the Federal Government seem desirable. The opposition in the Bundestag sees itself confirmed by the new numbers in their criticism, because the bill does not go far enough to all opposition factions. They demand more drastic measures to reduce the risk of infection in German hospitals to a tolerable level.

Data on hospital infections almost 20 years old
The figures on hospital infections, taken into account by the Federal Ministry of Health, date back to the 1990s and set an infection rate of only 3.5 percent per annum for around 15 million hospital-treated patients. These numbers are „even in international comparison to be classified as extremely low and (...) certainly not the actual prevalence of nosocomial infections“, so the opinion of the organizations to the health committee. Nosocomial infections are understood to mean the infections caused by medical treatment. The physicians also emphasized that infections that occur in rehabilitation clinics, in out-patient surgeries or in the home care of patients should also be considered - but this is not the case in the underlying study. The Federal Government's goal of reducing the number of infections by a minimum of 20 to 30 percent with the current bill seems rather unrealistic given the significantly higher number of people affected.

Bill aims to reduce infection numbers by up to 30 percent
In the German government's bill to reduce the risk of infection in German hospitals, CDU, CSU and FDP assume that „reduce the number of nosocomial infections, in particular with resistant pathogens (...), inter alia by better compliance with hygiene rules and proper prescription of antibiotics as well as the consideration of cross-sectoral prevention approaches“ can. By strengthening the quality and transparency of hygiene in medical facilities, 20 to 30 percent of infections will be avoided in the future. A key point in the new bill is the introduction of nationwide guidelines for the design of hospital hygiene regulations at the state level. Up to now, the establishment of hygiene regulations has been voluntary and only in Bavaria, Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and Saxony have such regulations been introduced.

Hygiene regulations to reduce the risk of infection
The hygiene regulations not only ensure compliance with certain hygiene regulations in clinics, but also regulate the use of antibiotics. Because the negligent handling of antibiotics has led according to the experts to a massive proliferation of multidrug-resistant pathogens, which are immune to all common antibiotics. According to the DGKH, multidrug-resistant pathogens such as MRSA, VRE and ESBL are particularly threatening to the health of patients and especially the MRSA pathogens, multidrug-resistant bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus aureus (staphylococci), are relatively widespread in the German hospitals. While the development of resistance is favored by the improper use of antibiotics, the transmission of germs to the hospital patients is usually due to the lack of compliance with the health requirements in the hospitals, said the experts of the DGKH.

Opposition called for more comprehensive measures than hospital hygiene regulations
Whether stricter hygiene regulations are sufficient to get a handle on the infection numbers that have now become known is not only questioned by the physicians of the DGKH, GHUP and BVÖGD, but the opposition also demands considerably more comprehensive measures. The Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen faction emphasized the importance of uniform rules for the federal and state governments, although competences that are normally held by the federal states should also be taken over by the federal government. In addition, the Greens call for risk patients before admission to inpatient facilities, a screening to identify possible infections and to take appropriate preventive measures. The SPD faction also advocates the training of more hygiene and infection prevention professionals to ensure the implementation of the measures adopted. In this way, it should be ensured that the guidelines and standards for combating hospital germs can also be effectively implemented. The DGKH also accepted this demand.

Skilled labor shortage in hospital hygiene
According to the Infection Protection Initiative, the impending shortage of skilled workers should also be taken into account by setting up your chairs of hygiene at German universities, because at present there are only six such chairs in Germany. The Left campaigned for a notification of multidrug-resistant infections in the Health Committee and called for health authorities to sanction violations of the guidelines. In addition to the measures aimed at the clinics, both the Greens and the Left demanded that the use of antibiotics in livestock farming on the „Veterinary necessary degree should be reduced to prevent the further spread of resistant pathogens. (Fp)

Also read:
Hospital germs: Staphylococci prefer blood
Risk of infection in the hospital
Resistant bacteria in German hospitals
Vaccination against multidrug-resistant hospital germs
Hygiene Regulation effective against hospital germs?

Picture: Gerd Altmann