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CDC Launches Program to Protect Cancer Patients From Infections

Because infections remain a major cause of hospitalization and death among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching a new program to help protect this most vulnerable population.

More than a million patients receive cancer treatment in an outpatient oncology clinic each year. Yet despite many advances in oncology care, infections still occur in both community and health care settings. This new program is aimed at providing tools to help clinicians and patients prevent infections during chemotherapy treatment.

“Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy often have weak immune systems and need to be kept safe against germs,” said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, in a news release. “These new resources help patients take an active role in protecting themselves against infection and give doctors, nurses, and other clinicians necessary tools to better prevent infection.”

CDC’s new Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients program is an all-encompassing initiative focusing on providing information, tools and action steps for patients, their families, and their health care providers to reduce the risk of life-threatening infections during chemotherapy treatment. The program’s resources include an interactive website (www.preventcancerinfections.org), as well as a Basic Infection Control and Prevention Plan for use by outpatient oncology settings.

The new website, called “3 Steps Toward Preventing Infections During Cancer Treatment,” includes a survey/questionnaire that helps cancer patients understand their risk for developing a condition called neutropenia, a low white blood cell count that occurs during chemotherapy.

Neutropenia is a common and dangerous side effect of chemotherapy that reduces a patient’s ability to fight infection. Cancer patients and caregivers can answer a few questions about their risk factors and receive information about how they can prevent, prepare and protect themselves from getting an infection during their cancer treatment:

• Prepare: Watch out for a fever during chemotherapy.
• Prevent: Clean your hands.
• Protect: Know the signs and symptoms of an infection and what to do if you develop any signs or symptoms.

For health care providers and facility administrators, The Basic Infection Control and Prevention Plan for Outpatient Oncology Settings includes the necessary policies and procedures to make sure a facility meets or exceeds the basic expectations for patient safety, as set out in the newly released CDC Guide to Infection Prevention in Outpatient Settings. The elements included in this plan are all based on CDC’s evidence-based guidelines and those from professional societies.

Such a plan is needed, researchers say, because attention to infection prevention varies so much among outpatient oncology facilities.

“Repeated outbreaks resulting from lapses in basic infection prevention practices, such as syringe reuse, have put patients at risk,” said Dr. Alice Guh, medical officer and co-lead of the initiative at CDC. “In some of these cases, the implicated clinic did not have written infection control policies and procedures or regular access to infection prevention expertise.”

It is imperative that care of this vulnerable patient population be provided under conditions that help to minimize the dangerous risk of health care-associated infections. This should be a shared responsibility among clinicians and facility administrators to follow best practices and ensure staff has the necessary resources and training.

This combined approach will help emphasize the importance of creating a culture of infection prevention at all health care facilities.

The CDC suggests that all outpatient oncology facilities utilize the plan in one of the following ways:

• Facilities that have a plan should ensure that its policies and procedures include the elements outlined in this tool.
• Those without a plan should use this resource to draft and implement a plan for their facility.
• Facilities can use this plan as written or modify it with facility-specific information.

For more on patient safety issues, see the library of articles by Daytona Beach medical malpractice attorney.

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