TY - JOUR
T1 - Revisiting the “leading edge” of hospital privacy curtains in the medical intensive care unit
AU - Brown, Leah
AU - Siddiqui, Safia
AU - McMullen, Allison
AU - Waller, Jennifer
AU - Baer, Stephanie
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at our institution for providing MALDI-TOF MS technology for this project. This project was supported by the Translational Research Program of the Department of Medicine at our institution, as well as the Biomedical Research Corporation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - Background: Privacy curtains within medical intensive care unit (MICU) rooms are a potential contributor to health care associated infections. The “leading edge” of a hospital curtain, estimated to be the edge most frequently touched, likely plays a role in health care associated infections at hospitals. The aims of this study were to (1) compare the bacterial load of the edge vs the middle of curtains in the MICU, and (2) determine the identity and distribution of relevant pathogens colonizing them. Methods: The edge and middle sections of 8 curtains in MICU rooms (4 contact precaution and 4 noncontact precaution) were sampled for culture on patient and staff sides. Bacterial loads of edges and middles were compared. Select isolates were further analyzed for species identification. Results: There was a statistically significant difference for the contact (t = 2.10, P =.047) and noncontact (t = 2.62, P =.016) rooms, with the edges having a significantly higher median than the middles. Pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus, Klebsiella, and Acinetobacter were found on the curtains, though at lower rates than in previous studies. Opportunistic fungi were also found on all curtains. Conclusions: Results of this study confirm that hospital curtains, most notably the edge but also the middle, are contaminated with pathogens, and that these areas are frequently touched by health care workers in between hand hygiene.
AB - Background: Privacy curtains within medical intensive care unit (MICU) rooms are a potential contributor to health care associated infections. The “leading edge” of a hospital curtain, estimated to be the edge most frequently touched, likely plays a role in health care associated infections at hospitals. The aims of this study were to (1) compare the bacterial load of the edge vs the middle of curtains in the MICU, and (2) determine the identity and distribution of relevant pathogens colonizing them. Methods: The edge and middle sections of 8 curtains in MICU rooms (4 contact precaution and 4 noncontact precaution) were sampled for culture on patient and staff sides. Bacterial loads of edges and middles were compared. Select isolates were further analyzed for species identification. Results: There was a statistically significant difference for the contact (t = 2.10, P =.047) and noncontact (t = 2.62, P =.016) rooms, with the edges having a significantly higher median than the middles. Pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus, Klebsiella, and Acinetobacter were found on the curtains, though at lower rates than in previous studies. Opportunistic fungi were also found on all curtains. Conclusions: Results of this study confirm that hospital curtains, most notably the edge but also the middle, are contaminated with pathogens, and that these areas are frequently touched by health care workers in between hand hygiene.
KW - Fomite
KW - Healthcare environmental culture
KW - High touch surfaces
KW - Hospital acquired infection
KW - Infection control
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.03.015
DO - 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.03.015
M3 - Article
C2 - 32376122
AN - SCOPUS:85084209049
SN - 0196-6553
VL - 48
SP - 746
EP - 750
JO - American Journal of Infection Control
JF - American Journal of Infection Control
IS - 7
ER -