Highlights
- •The persistence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) within intensive care units poses a significant risk to patient safety.
- •A new approach to locating these MDRO was investigated using environmental microbiology with adenosine triphosphate testing, which demonstrated a significant improvement in identification of MDRO locations.
- •Results suggests that MDRO may be hiding within clinical staff work areas and away from immediate patient zones.
Background
The persistence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) within an intensive care
unit (ICU) possibly contained within dry surface biofilms, remains a perplexing confounder
and is a threat to patient safety. Identification of residential locations of MDRO
within the ICU is an intervention for which new scientific approaches may assist in
finding potential MDRO reservoirs.
Method
This study investigated a new approach to sampling using a more aggressive environmental
swabbing technique of high-touch objects (HTOs) and surfaces, aided by 2 commercially
available adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminometers.
Results
A total of 13 individual MDRO locations identified in this pilot study. The use of
ATP bioluminometers was significantly associated with the identification of 12 of
the 13 individual MDRO locations. The MDRO recovery and readings from the 2 ATP bioluminometers
were not significantly correlated with distinct cutoffs for each ATP device, and there
was no correlation between the 2 ATP devices.
Conclusion
The specific MDRO locations were not limited to the immediate patient surroundings
or to any specific HTO or type of surface. The use of ATP testing helped rapidly identify
the soiled locations for MDRO sampling. The greatest density of positive MDRO locations
was around and within the clinical staff work station.
Key Words
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Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
