St. Louis ? Hospitalized children suffer too many infections and other preventable complications that extend hospital stays and cost millions, according to a study released today.

Researchers found that some complications occurred in up to 4 percent of children treated at 38 children’s hospitals nationwide.

Children are three times more susceptible to infections in hospitals compared with adults, the study shows. Better hand washing, sterilization, preventative antibiotic treatments and other safety techniques can help reduce hospital-based infections.

“I disagree with the notion that we should take it as a given that some infections will happen,” said the study’s co-author, Dr. Matthew Kronman, an infectious disease specialist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “I think we can do better.”

Researchers studied the medical records of thousands of children hospitalized in 2006, looking for 12 complications known as adverse events by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The complications include infections from catheters, bedsores, accidental punctures and foreign objects left in children’s bodies after surgery.

Children and adults suffer different complications at different rates, and the study is the first to analyze pediatric patients alone. Children are more likely than adults to have some complications, such as postoperative infections and hemorrhaging, but less likely to suffer others, such as bedsores.

The study found that of 430,000 children hospitalized in 2006, more than 6,600 suffered complications caused by their care. Also, 4,300 of the total number of children studied died, but it is not clear whether the deaths resulted from medical mistakes.

“We need to do a better job of identifying ways to prevent some of these complications,” said study leader Dr. Samir Shah, an infectious disease specialist at the Philadelphia hospital.