Highlights
- •Health care staff are very concerned about inadequate wheelchair cleaning and disinfection.
- •Wheelchair cleaning and disinfection is not optimally performed at many health care facilities.
- •Most facilities lack clear policies and procedures for cleaning and disinfection of wheelchairs.
- •Key concerns include tracking dirty and clean wheelchairs and dealing with cushions and armrests.
Background
Wheelchairs are complex equipment that come in close contact with individuals at increased
risk of transmitting and acquiring antibiotic-resistant organisms and health care–associated
infection. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of wheelchair cleaning
and disinfection in Canadian health care facilities.
Methods
Acute care hospitals (ACHs), chronic care hospitals (CCHs), and long-term care facilities
(LTCFs) were contacted and the individual responsible for oversight of wheelchair
cleaning and disinfection was identified. A structured interview was conducted that
focused on current practices and concerns, barriers to effective wheelchair cleaning
and disinfection, and potential solutions.
Results
Interviews were completed at 48 of the 54 facilities contacted (89%), including 18
ACHs, 16 CCHs, and 14 LTCFs. Most (n = 24) facilities had 50-200 in-house wheelchairs.
Respondents were very concerned about wheelchair cleaning as an infection control
issue. Specific concerns included the lack of reliable systems for tracking and identifying
dirty and clean wheelchairs (71%, 34/48), failure to clean and disinfect wheelchairs
between patients (52%, 25/48), difficulty cleaning cushions (42%, 20/48), lack of
guidelines (35%, 27/48), continued use of visibly soiled wheelchairs (29%, 14/48)
and lack of resources (25%, 12/48).
Conclusion
Our results suggest that wheelchair cleaning and disinfection is not optimally performed
at many Canadian hospitals and LTCFs. Specific guidance on wheelchair cleaning and
disinfection is necessary.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to American Journal of Infection ControlAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Point prevalence survey for healthcare-associated infections within Canadian adult acute-care hospitals.J Hosp Infect. 2007; 66: 243-248
- Estimating health care-associated infections and deaths in U.S. hospitals, 2002.Public Health Rep. 2007; 122: 160-166
- Multistate point-prevalence survey of health care-associated infections.N Engl J Med. 2014; 370: 1198-1208
- Estimating the proportion of healthcare-associated infections that are reasonably preventable and the related mortality and costs.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2011; 32: 101-114
Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (Public Health Ontario). Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee. Best practices for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of medical equipment/devices. 3rd ed. Available from: http://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/eRepository/PIDAC_Cleaning_Disinfection_and_Sterilization_2013.pdf. Accessed June 5, 2014.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guideline for disinfection and sterilization in healthcare facilities, 2008. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/Disinfection_Sterilization/5_0cleaning.html. Accessed May 30, 2014.
- Wheelchair wheel suspected in staph spread.Hosp Infect Cont. 1979; 6: 85-86
- Question 2. Does regular cleaning of stethoscopes result in a reduction in nosocomial infections?.Arch Dis Child. 2012; 97: 175-177
- Contamination of stethoscopes and physicians' hands after a physical examination.Mayo Clinic Proc. 2014; 89: 291-299
- Gentamicin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection from mattresses in a burns unit.Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1981; 283: 219-220
- Mattresses as reservoirs of epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.Lancet. 1991; 337: 488
- An outbreak of infections with Acinetobacter calcoaceticus in burn patients: contamination of patients' mattresses.J Infect Dis. 1985; 151: 252-258
- Environmental cleaning intervention and risk of acquiring multidrug-resistant organisms from prior room occupants.Arch Intern Med. 2011; 171: 491-494
- Risk of acquiring antibiotic-resistant bacteria from prior room occupants.Arch Intern Med. 2006; 166: 1945-1951
- Risk of acquiring multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli from prior room occupants in the intensive care unit.Clin Microbiol Infect. 2011; 17: 1201-1208
Article info
Footnotes
Funding/Support: The study was supported by the Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation and Bridgepoint Hospital.
Conflict of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
