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A recent study suggests that curtains protecting privacy in hospitals can become fertile ground for resistant bacteria, posing a threat to patient safety. The study tracked the contamination rate of ten freshly laundered privacy shields in the Regional Burns and Plastics Unit at the Health Services Center in Winnipeg, Canada.
Although the curtains were very slightly contaminated during their first installation, the curtains that were hanging in patients' rooms became more and more contaminated over time. And at day 14, 87.5% of curtains were tested positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a pathogen associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In contrast, control curtains that were not placed in patients' rooms remained clean for 21 days.
A recent study suggests that curtains protecting privacy in hospitals can become fertile ground for resistant bacteria, posing a threat to patient safety.
Photo credit: iStock
None of the rooms where the curtains were placed were occupied by patients with MRSA. Four curtains were placed in a four bedroom room. four were placed in two double rooms and two controls were placed in areas without direct contact with the patient or caregiver. The researchers took samples from areas where people were holding curtains, suggesting that increasing contamination resulted from direct contact.
Lead author of the study, Kevin Shek, said, "We know that privacy curtains are at high risk of cross-contamination because they are frequently touched, but rarely changed. The high rate of contamination intervene, either by cleaning or replacing the curtains. "
We know that privacy curtains pose a high risk of cross-contamination because they are frequently touched but rarely changed.
Photo credit: iStock
By day 21, almost all curtains exceeded 2.5 CFU / cm, which is necessary to keep food processing equipment clean in some areas, such as the United Kingdom.
The authors of the study acknowledged the small sample size of this pilot study and recommend additional research to understand the clinical consequences of contaminated curtains.
The results appeared in the American Journal of Infection Control.
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