It's increasingly worrisome that we're not talking about healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in COVID-19 patients. Across the country we are seeing spikes and several studies have shown elevated risk for HAIs, especially bloodstream infections. 1/
COVID-19 patients, especially those in ICUs, are more likely to have invasive medical devices (urinary catheters, ventilators, central lines, etc.) - these are wonderful medical tools but also increase the risk for infection. 2/
These pts are medically complex, fragile, & we are still learning about how to improve their quality of care. For example -placing them in the prone position makes line care in pts with vascular issues that much more challenging, especially w/respiratory secretions. 3/
As hospitals report these HAIs (we're mandated to) to @CDCgov NHSN, a new data piece is if the patient has COVID-19. Understanding the increased risk for these infections and how we can address it through enhanced measures will be critical. 4/
HAIs = longer length of stay. That's hard on *everyone*. We need to do better in understanding the HAI risk for hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the first piece is actively talking about it. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… 5/5
