About one in every 25 patients seeking treatment at a hospital pick up an infection during their care, according to new study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that such infections happen 721,800 times a year - affecting 648,000 patients - even though such infections are preventable, USA Today reported. About 11 percent of those patients die.
The report is based on a survey conducted in 183 hospitals in 10 states in 2011. It updates a previous estimate of 1.7 million infections a year. Officials said the number can't be directly compared because the estimate issued in 2007 was used a different study method.
"But the trend looks like there are fewer infections," Michael Bell, deputy director of the CDC's division of health care quality promotion, told USA Today. "It makes sense because of all the efforts we've made to reduce infections."
Pneomonia and surgical-site infections were the most common types of infection. They each accounted for about 22 percent of all infections. Gastrointestinal infections such as Clostridium difficile, urinary tract infections and infections of the bloodstream, were also common.
A second report from the CDC released on Wednesday shows "where progress is and is not being made," USA Today reported.
According to the report, infections related to 10 common surgeries declined 20 percent from 2008 to 2012. The CDC also recorded a 44 percent decline in infections related to central lines, tubes placed in the chest, arm or neck to deliver nutrients and medicine and make blood draws easier during that same time period. But infections related to urinary catheters rose 4 percent.
Bell told CNN that when it comes to reducing infection rates "there's great data showing that we can actually move the needle significantly."
"But at the same time, we're not doing a perfect job of doing everything we should, every single time ... and there's some things which we haven't figured out how best to manage - yet," Bell said.
