Photo by Diane Reid
Hospital room
Hospital room floors may be an overlooked source of infection, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers surveyed 5 hospitals and found that floors in patient rooms were often contaminated with pathogens.
Certain objects, such as personal items and medical devices and supplies, were in contact with the floor, and touching these objects resulted in the transfer of pathogens to bare and gloved hands.
Abhishek Deshpande, MD, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, and his colleagues conducted this research.
The team cultured 318 floor sites from 159 patient rooms (2 sites per room) in 5 hospitals in the Cleveland area. The rooms included both Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) isolation rooms and non-CDI rooms.
The researchers also cultured hands (gloved and bare) as well as other “high-touch” surfaces such as clothing and medical devices/supplies.
The team found that floors in patient rooms were often contaminated with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and C difficile.
C difficile was recovered in 55% of CDI rooms and 47% of non-CDI rooms. MRSA was recovered in 32% of CDI rooms and 8% of non-CDI rooms. VRE was recovered in 30% of CDI rooms and 13% of non-CDI rooms.
The researchers said the frequency of contamination was similar for each of the 5 hospitals and from room and bathroom floor sites.
Of the 100 occupied rooms surveyed, 41% had one or more high-touch objects that were in contact with the floor. These included personal items (eg, clothing, canes, and cellular phone chargers), medical devices and supplies (eg, pulse oximeter, call button, heating pad, urinal, blood pressure cuff, wash basin, and heel protector), and bed linens or towels.
The findings indicate that handling such items resulted in the transfer of pathogens. All 3 pathogens were recovered from bare or gloved hand cultures—MRSA in 6 (18%), VRE in 2 (6%), and C difficile in 1 (3%).
The researchers said these results suggest hospital floors could be an underappreciated source for dissemination of pathogens and are an important area for additional research.
“Understanding gaps in infection prevention is critically important for institutions seeking to improve the quality of care offered to patients,” said Linda Greene, RN, current president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
“Even though most facilities believe they are taking the proper precautions, this study points out the importance of ensuring cleanliness of the hospital environment and the need for education of both staff and patients on this issue.”
