How Do You Prevent Bacteremia?
Bacteremia is a generic term referring to the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. This usually happens as a result of another infection, wound, surgical procedure or other means. Bacteremia usually resolves without treatment but it can become serious and lead to septic shock in patients with compromised immune systems. It is frequently found in hospital patients. The following steps will show how to prevent bacteremia. Identify outpatients at risk for secondary infections. Infants and young children with fever should be screened and treated empirically with antibiotics. This will not prevent initial bacteremia from occurring but may prevent subsequent focal infections. Use antibiotics judiciously in patients with invasive pneumococcal infections. These patients are at increased risk from antibiotic-resistant strains of pneumococci. Take the conjugate vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae serotype B meningitis (Hib). Widespread use of this vaccine in the 1990s has virtually eliminated
