Central line infections can be deadly. And they used to be extremely common: just a decade ago, hundreds of thousands of patients got them every year. Now, that number is closer to 9,000 annually. That's still high, but it's a dramatic drop in just ten years.
So how did that happen? On this episode of the Impact, we talk to the doctor who discovered that central line infections are, in nearly all cases, completely preventable. Physicians just need to follow a checklist to make sure the line stays safe and sterile.
And we’ll explore why, if this infection is preventable, some hospitals still have several cases of them each year.
Many thanks to Vox's Johnny Harris, who originally recorded footage for this story. For more on this topic, read Sarah’s story on central line infections from 2015.
Please subscribe, leave us a rating and a review, and email us your feedback at impact@vox.com.
40 Acres: Reaching reconciliation
40 Acres: The old Jim Crow
40 Acres: $14 trillion and no mules
40 Acres: The original promise
The Toll
Where the US already has a border wall
Free tuition is not enough
Family Dollar(s)
Saving Private Health Care
How Taiwan got Medicare-for-All
Green New Germany
After conviction, a second chance
How to stop an epidemic
The Impact of 2020
New season, new host
Denmark’s paternity leave problem
The incredible shrinking city
Leaving Baltimore behind
What schools look like when we fund them fairly
Food fight!
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Today, Explained
Re/Code Decode
The Gray Area with Sean Illing
The Vergecast
The Weeds