Emergency Rooms Cause More Infections For Elderly Patients
According to a new study, an emergency room visit may triple the risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections for nursing home residents. The rate of an acute respiratory infection was 5% within a week of an emergency room visit compared with 2% when not leaving the long-term care facility.
The study showed that seniors at nursing homes were 4 times more likely to acquire an infection following a trip to the emergency room. The group of researches suggested that additional precautions may be reasonable for five to seven days after their return from the emergency room because the elderly patients may be picking up pathogens in the waiting room or exam room from patients or staff. If a patient becomes infected, it heightens the chances of infecting other nursing home residents when they return from the emergency room. A prior study suggested that an influenza outbreak would kill one in 100 nursing home patients and cost $6000 over 30 days.
It is important to consider and question whether hospitals are doing enough to help protect elderly patients who are more vulnerable to infections. If your loved one has to undergo an emergency room visit for any reason, it might be best to at least ask the physician about the probability of an infection and what can be done to protect your loved one. If there was any part of negligence on the hospital's part, and they failed to protect your loved one from getting an infection then they could be held responsible for making your loved one sick.
