Infectious disease symptoms, treatment, and the possible ensuing complications are complex. When an infection is difficult to diagnose and/or a patient does not respond to treatment, the infectious disease expert is critical to success. If the infection is acquired while in the hospital, ID physicians will work with other hospital physicians to direct the patient’s care.
CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., recently stated, “New data show that far too many patients are getting infected with dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria in healthcare settings. The CDC reports on these “superbugs.”
Many of the most urgent and serious antibiotic-resistant bacteria threaten patients while they are being treated in healthcare facilities for other conditions, and may lead to sepsis or death. In acute care hospitals, 1 in 7 catheter- and surgery-related HAIs can be caused by any of the six antibiotic-resistant bacteria listed below. That number increases to 1 in 4 infections in long-term acute care hospitals, which treat patients who are generally very sick and stay, on average, more than 25 days. The six antibiotic-resistant threats examined are:
Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (extended-spectrum β-lactamases)
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)
Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter
Infections spread in a hospital setting have long been a problem. Litigation concerning standard of care and causation in the area of infectious disease requires a top tier legal team. This team must include the expert witness with the credence that is earned with university professor credentials and full time clinical experience.
