Over a three-week period, 180 swab cultures were obtained twice weekly from an 800-cm2 area on the leading edge of 43 privacy curtains in 30 rooms (eight medical intensive care unit, seven surgical intensive care unit and 15 medical wards).
Sign up for our FREE E-Weekly for more coverage like this sent to your inbox!
Of the 13 freshly laundered curtains placed during the study, 12 (92 percent) showed contamination within one week. Forty one curtains (95 percent) demonstrated contamination on at least one occasion. MRSA was isolated from 21 percent and VRE from 42 percent of curtains. Overall, 119 of 180 (66 percent) cultures were positive for either S. aureus (26 percent), Enterococcus spp. (44 percent) or gram-negative rods (22 percent).
Related Articles on Infection Prevention:
Bacteria on Healthcare Workers’ Uniforms: Q&A With APIC President Russell Olmsted
OSHA Fact Sheet: Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Incidents
Ongoing Pediatric Quality Improvement Program Yields $104M in Savings
