Highlights
- •Health care workers' hands were imprinted before and after touching privacy curtains.
- •Half of all participants grew bacteria on their hands after touching curtains.
- •All curtain-acquired organisms were skin or oral commensal flora.
- •Hand hygiene after touching curtains is important in preventing nosocomial infection.
To determine whether pathogenic bacteria could be transferred to health care workers
by touching privacy curtains, imprints of health care workers' fingertips were obtained
when participants were approached, after hand hygiene with alcohol handrub, and directly
after handling curtains. Participants' hands were heavily contaminated at baseline,
in some cases with potentially pathogenic species. Half of the participants (n = 30)
acquired bacteria on their fingertips from handling curtains, illustrating that privacy
curtains may be involved in the transmission of infection to emergency department
patients.
Key Words
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References
- Guidelines for hand hygiene in healthcare.(Available from:) (Accessed July 16, 2015)
- Evidence-based model for hand transmission during patient care and the role of improved practices.Lancet Infect Dis. 2006; 6: 641-652
- Hospital privacy curtains are frequently and rapidly contaminated with potentially pathogenic bacteria.Am J Infect Control. 2012; 40: 904-906
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- Outbreak of invasive group A streptococcus infection: contaminated patient curtains and cross-infection on an ear, nose and throat ward.J Hosp Infect. 2014; 87: 141-144
- Just Clean Your Hands Program, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long term Care. How to Handrub.(Available from:) (Accessed June 27, 2016)
- Acquisition of nosocomial pathogens on hands after contact with environmental surfaces near hospitalized patients.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2004; 25: 164-167
- Alcohol-based handrub: evaluation of technique and microbiological efficacy with international infection control professionals.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2004; 25: 207-209
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 04, 2016
Footnotes
Conflicts of Interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
