Keeping a hospital clean is crucial to preventing the spread of illnesses and prevention of sepsis. Unfortunately, a new study found microbial contamination remained on high-touch areas even after disinfection.
Samples came from 400 surfaces at the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System during June and July 2022. The researchers focused on high-touch surfaces - such as simulation manikins, wheeled workstations, bed rails and keyboards at nurses' stations. Bacteria were found on all - with manikins and bed rails having the most diverse types.
"The findings shed light on the persistent challenge of reducing healthcare-associated infections and indicate that innovative strategies may be needed for more effective disinfection of these surfaces," Mirage News wrote.
The tests identified 60 kinds of bacteria, including 18 well-known human pathogens and numerous others that could cause disease.
The most common known pathogenic bacteria included enterococcus, staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus, escherichia coli and klebsiella aerogenes.
"Our study clearly shows the bioburden associated with high-touch hospital surfaces -including simulation manikins, which are not typically regarded as a risk because patients rarely touch them - and indicates that we must do better in protecting the health of our patients and our hospital employees," said Piyali Chatterjee, research scientist at Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System and senior author of the paper.
Said Tania Bubb, 2024 president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology: "By understanding the gaps in our current disinfection protocols, we can focus on developing more effective protocols and education strategies to prevent the spread of dangerous organisms and better protect patients and health care workers from these healthcare-associated infections."
"It is a continuing frustration to healthcare professionals that healthcare-associated infections persist despite rigorous attention to disinfection practices," Chatterjee added.
the atlanta journal-constitution (tns)
(By Nancy Clanton)
