Pennsylvania study tracks hospital infection

More than 30,000 people, or about 19 patients in 1,000, contracted infections in 2006 while undergoing treatment at hospitals in Pennsylvania, according to a state report. The report, from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, found that patients who got infections remained in the hospital an average of 19 days, compared with fewer than five days for those who did not do so. Patients with infections wracked up hospital charges averaging nearly $176,000, compared with less than $34,000 for other patients.