Hydrogen Peroxide And Sepsi Sepsis: A Case Study

For many years Hydrogen peroxide was widely used for disinfecting, sterilization and its antiseptic properties, it is cheap and easily available OTC at any drug store or grocery store. “This readily available oxidant is rapidly converted to the highly reactive hydroxyl radical that damages an array of cellular components” (Atiyeh, Dibo, and Hayek, 2009). “The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA, 2014). Have issued a warning regarding its use in surgery and in deep and large wounds”(Caution: Hydrogen Peroxide, 2015). “There have been life threatening and fatal cases of gas embolism with use of hydrogen peroxide during surgery. The gas bubbles, known as emboli, can enter the arterial or venous circulation. These can have catastrophic effects, including death and organ damage (Merck, 2015). Problems can occur when hydrogen peroxide is used to soak swabs for wound packing or is used to irrigate large or deep wounds” (Caution: Hydrogen Peroxide, 2015).
“The number of deaths from sepsis in the U.S increased from 154,159 in 2000 to 207,427 in 2007 and the numbers of hospitalizations with sepsis have overtaken those for myocardial infarction. In the U.S., sepsis accounts for far more deaths than the number of deaths from prostate cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined” (World Sepsis Day, 2015). Sepsis is the most expensive condition treated in U.S. hospitals according to the Agency for healthcare Research and Quality; in 2011 it cost more than $20 billion annually and is increasing 11.9%