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Effectiveness of antimicrobial hospital curtains on reducing bacterial contamination—A multicenter study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2018

Shik Luk ,
Viola Chi Ying Chow ,
Kelvin Chung Ho Yu ,
Enoch Know Hsu ,
Ngai Chong Tsang ,
Vivien Wai Man Chuang ,
Christopher Koon Chi Lai ,
Mamie Hui ,
Rodney Allan Lee  and
Wai Man Lai
...Show all authors
Shik Luk*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Viola Chi Ying Chow
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Kelvin Chung Ho Yu
Affiliation:
Infection Control Branch, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, Hong Kong, China Infectious Disease Control Training Centre, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, China
Enoch Know Hsu
Affiliation:
Infection Control Branch, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, Hong Kong, China Infectious Disease Control Training Centre, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, China
Ngai Chong Tsang
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong, China Chief Infection Control Officer Office, Hospital Authority Head Office, Hong Kong, China
Vivien Wai Man Chuang
Affiliation:
Chief Infection Control Officer Office, Hospital Authority Head Office, Hong Kong, China
Christopher Koon Chi Lai
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Mamie Hui
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Rodney Allan Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Pathology, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Wai Man Lai
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Tak Lun Que
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Pathology, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Sau Chun Fung
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, United Christian Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Wing Kin To
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Vincent Chi Chung Cheng
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China
Andrew Tin Yau Wong
Affiliation:
Infection Control Branch, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, Hong Kong, China Infectious Disease Control Training Centre, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, China
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Shik Luk, 12/F, Department of Pathology, Block G, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong, China. E-mail: sluk@ha.org.hk
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Abstract

Objective

To determine the efficacy of 2 types of antimicrobial privacy curtains in clinical settings and the costs involved in replacing standard curtains with antimicrobial curtains.

Design

A prospective, open-labeled, multicenter study with a follow-up duration of 6 months.

Setting

This study included 12 rooms of patients with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) (668 patient bed days) and 10 cubicles (8,839 patient bed days) in the medical, surgical, neurosurgical, orthopedics, and rehabilitation units of 10 hospitals.

Method

Culture samples were collected from curtain surfaces twice a week for 2 weeks, followed by weekly intervals.

Results

With a median hanging time of 173 days, antimicrobial curtain B (quaternary ammonium chlorides [QAC] plus polyorganosiloxane) was highly effective in reducing the bioburden (colony-forming units/100 cm2, 1 vs 57; P < .001) compared with the standard curtain. The percentages of MDRO contamination were also significantly lower on antimicrobial curtain B than the standard curtain: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 0.5% vs 24% (P < .001); carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp, 0.2% vs 22.1% (P < .001); multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter spp, 0% vs 13.2% (P < .001). Notably, the median time to first contamination by MDROs was 27.6 times longer for antimicrobial curtain B than for the standard curtain (138 days vs 5 days; P = .001).

Conclusions

Antimicrobial curtain B (QAC plus polyorganosiloxane) but not antimicrobial curtain A (built-in silver) effectively reduced the microbial burden and MDRO contamination compared with the standard curtain, even after extended use in an active clinical setting. The antimicrobial curtain provided an opportunity to avert indirect costs related to curtain changing and laundering in addition to improving patient safety.

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 40 , Issue 2 , February 2019 , pp. 164 - 170
Copyright
© 2018 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved. 

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Footnotes

Cite this article: Luk S, et al. (2019). Effectiveness of antimicrobial hospital curtains on reducing bacterial contamination—A multicenter study. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 2019, 40, 164–170. doi: 10.1017/ice.2018.315

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