An evaluation of hand hygiene in an intensive care unit: Are visitors a potential vector for pathogens?

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• 作者：David J. Birnbach^a ; ^b ; ^{dbirnbach@miami.edu" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; Lisa F. Rosen^a ; ^{lrosen@med.miami.edu" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; Maureen Fitzpatrick^a ; ^{mfitzpatrick@med.miami.edu" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; Kristopher L. Arheart^b ; ^{karheart@med.miami.edu" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; L. Silvia Munoz-Price^c ; ^{smunozprice@mcw.edu" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author}
• 关键词：Community-acquired infection ; Hand hygiene ; Intensive care unit ; Patient safety ; Healthcare-associated infection
• 刊名：Journal of Infection and Public Health
• 出版年：2015
• 出版时间：November-December 2015
• 年：2015
• 卷：8
• 期：6
• 页码：570-574
• 全文大小：330 K

文摘

Patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) are frequently immunocompromised and might be highly susceptible to infection. Visitors to an ICU who do not adequately clean their hands could carry pathogenic organisms, resulting in risk to a vulnerable patient population. This observational study identifies pathogens carried on the hands of visitors into an ICU and investigates the effect of hand hygiene.

Two observers, one stationed outside and one inside the ICU, evaluated whether visitors performed hand hygiene at any of the wall-mounted alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispensers prior to reaching a patient's room. Upon reaching a patient's room, the dominant hand of all of the participants was cultured.

Of the 55 participating visitors, 35 did not disinfect their hands. Among the cultures of those who failed to perform hand hygiene, eight cultures grew Gram-negative rods and one grew methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Of the cultures of the 20 individuals who performed hand hygiene, 14 (70%) had no growth on the cultures, and the remaining six (30%) showed only the usual skin flora.

The visitors who do not perform hand hygiene might carry pathogens that pose a risk to ICU patients.