Semmelweis & Hand-washing Questions
With Complete Solutions
Semmelweis Conflict 1. Professor Klein and others believed Semmelweis's observations
were in conflict with the prevailing
miasmatic hypothesis of disease. That the decline in mortality rates could be due to the new
ventilation system.
2. Semmelweis failed to publish his work until 13 years after his discovery and his work was
badly written
3. Doctors were reluctant to admit that they were
actually responsible for the deaths of many patients that were under their care.
4. The lack of indoor plumbing at the time making it
difficult to obtain access to fresh water. The practice of hand-washing would also have been
somewhat inconvenient for doctors and medical students at the time.
5. He was a Hungarian in Austria at the time of a xenophobic backlash in Europe.
Explain what is meant by a nosocomial infection -When a patient is infected in the
hospital with something that they had not gone to the hospital for.
-5% to 10% of patients in acute care hospitals acquire nosocomial infections.
Semmelweis Hypothesis 1. Semmelweis noticed a link between those who performed
autopsies and handled children and women to those who only handled children and women.
With Complete Solutions
Semmelweis Conflict 1. Professor Klein and others believed Semmelweis's observations
were in conflict with the prevailing
miasmatic hypothesis of disease. That the decline in mortality rates could be due to the new
ventilation system.
2. Semmelweis failed to publish his work until 13 years after his discovery and his work was
badly written
3. Doctors were reluctant to admit that they were
actually responsible for the deaths of many patients that were under their care.
4. The lack of indoor plumbing at the time making it
difficult to obtain access to fresh water. The practice of hand-washing would also have been
somewhat inconvenient for doctors and medical students at the time.
5. He was a Hungarian in Austria at the time of a xenophobic backlash in Europe.
Explain what is meant by a nosocomial infection -When a patient is infected in the
hospital with something that they had not gone to the hospital for.
-5% to 10% of patients in acute care hospitals acquire nosocomial infections.
Semmelweis Hypothesis 1. Semmelweis noticed a link between those who performed
autopsies and handled children and women to those who only handled children and women.
