Hospital Protocol For Patient, Staff, Visitor ExposurePOSTED: 3:52 pm EDT July 3,
2007 The following is a transcript of a report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks that first aired July 3, 2007, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m. Anytime patients or hospital staff are possibly exposed to an infectious disease, they must be told about it, and they must be given advice about being tested and treated.On any given day, thousands of patients, visitors and staff members pass through the halls of local hospitals. Everyone carries microbes on their skin or in their lungs, which could be the common cold, tuberculosis or worse, methylin resistant staph aureus."Its predominately skin infection, and it also produces a type of toxin, which can cause necrosis, which means death of skin tissue," said Dr. Nalini Rao.MRSA is a very real problem in hospitals and is resistant to many antibiotics.If you need medical care the moment you enter a hospital, you're exposed. If the bug is contagious, you may be informed."In consultation with the hospital, we usually decide what is the best way to handle this so that patients are not put at risk and so that people are adequately informed even though the risk may be small," said Dr. Bruce Dixon of the Allegheny County Health Department.The risk of tuberculosis is small with casual contact. Still, it's a respiratory airborne infection, so patients of UPMC Montefiore in Oakland who might have been exposed last week were notified.Blood borne and skin infections might also call for notification.Staph aureus bacteria can be antibiotic resistant. Strep, another deadly bacteria can eat flesh or cause meningitis and meningococcal disease. But usually patients are notified if exposed to respiratory infections like TB.Nearly 80 diseases, including chicken pox, cholera and rabies are, by law, reportable to state and local health departments. Some must be reported within 24 hours. Related Links: More County NewsGet RSS | E-Mail Alerts The following is a transcript of a report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks that first aired Aug. 22, 2006, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m. Copyright 2007 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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