STAT

As care shifts from hospital to home, guarding against infection falls to families

Families are taking on more complex, risky medical tasks for their loved ones, but some parents say hospitals have not provided enough training.

Angela Cooper arrived home from work to discover her daughter’s temperature had spiked to 102 degrees — a sign that the teenager, who has cancer, had a potentially deadly bloodstream infection. As Cooper rushed her daughter to the hospital, her mind raced: Had she done something to cause the infection?

Cooper, who works at a Chevy dealership in Iowa, has no medical background. She is one of thousands of parents who perform a daunting medical task at home — caring for a child’s catheter, called a central line, that is inserted in the arm or torso to make it easier to draw blood or administer drugs.

Central lines, standard for children with cancer, lead directly to a large vein near the heart. They allow patients with cancer and other conditions to leave the hospital and receive antibiotics, liquid

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from STAT

STAT1 min read
STAT+: IVF Doctors Demand Full Details On Fluid That Grows Embryos Amid CooperSurgical Lawsuits
Patients from all over the country are filing lawsuits against medical supply giant CooperSurgical, alleging that fluid the company sent to in vitro fertilization clinics destroyed their embryos. The fluid, called culture media, is filled with nutrie
STAT1 min read
Disparities In Donor Acceptance Rates Point To Need For More Equitable Heart Transplant Care
While access to donor hearts has increased, there are still gender- and race-based disparities in the acceptance rate of a donor heart offer by transplant teams, a new study finds.
STAT1 min read
STAT+: AstraZeneca Sues Arkansas Over The Role Of Pharmacies In A Federal Discount Drug Program
AstraZeneca filed a lawsuit seeking to block an Arkansas law that requires the company to ship its medicines to any pharmacy working with hospitals participating in a federal discount program.

Related Books & Audiobooks