Whole Article on MT Sinai Infections

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(((I forwarded this on to Tina.)))

SINAI LIVER DEATHS

By SUSAN EDELMAN

January 8, 2006 -- Twenty

liver-transplant patients suffered bacterial infections at Mount

Sinai Hospital in

the last six months — including six people who died, The Post has

learned.

Liver

transplants are highly risky — but the rate of infection at Mount

Sinai, one of the city's busiest transplant centers, was high

enough to cause the hospital to alert the state last month, state and hospital

officials said.

The state

Department of Health is investigating the source of the bacteria and any links

among the 20 cases, said agency spokesman Kenny.

Kenny would not state the number of

deaths, pending the outcome of the state investigation, but a source familiar

with the probe confirmed that six infected patients had died.

Mount

Sinai also declined to discuss the deaths, but a

spokesperson noted that liver-transplant patients can die from many causes.

" Patients

who receive liver transplants are very ill, and in these complex cases, infection

is only one of many factors that can contribute to death, " the

spokesperson said.

Organ

recipients are given powerful drugs that weaken their immune systems, making

them highly susceptible to infection.

" They

are some of the most vulnerable patients, with complex and urgent needs, " Kenny

said.

No new

cases have been reported since Dec. 14, when the state ordered the Upper

East Side hospital to take such precautions as isolating infected

patients, thorough hand-washing by caregivers and proper wound dressing, Kenny

said.

The same

ward was partially shut down for a year after liver donor Hurewitz and other transplant patients died of infections

and Mount Sinai was cited for many

violations.

Three

years ago, state Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello

lifted the ban that barred Mount Sinai

from using live donors for adult liver transplants.

Hurewitz, 57, a former Post

reporter, died three days after he had donated a piece of his liver to save his

brother's life.

The state

found that Hurewitz — one of only a few liver

donors nationwide who have died — got " woefully inadequate " postsurgical care. His case spawned a major probe of nearly

200 complaints of poor patient care — including 114 deaths — at Mount Sinai.

The state

eventually hit the hospital with violations in 53 patient cases for filthy

conditions, a lack of infection control and other problems in the liver ward

and other units. The hospital made sweeping improvements, and a year later the

state gave the liver unit a green light.

In a

statement last week, Mount Sinai

acknowledged an " increase in postoperative infections " in adults who

got livers from cadavers but refused to divulge any numbers.

" All

the bacteria are known and common in these cases, and the patients were treated

appropriately, " the hospital said.

Barb

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