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Contamination of Hospital Curtains With Healthcare-Associated Pathogens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Floyd Trillis III ,
Elizabeth C. Eckstein ,
Rachel Budavich ,
Michael J. Pultz  and
Curtis J. Donskey
Floyd Trillis III
Affiliation:
Research Service, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Elizabeth C. Eckstein
Affiliation:
Infection Control Department, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Rachel Budavich
Affiliation:
Research Service, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Michael J. Pultz
Affiliation:
Research Service, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Curtis J. Donskey*
Affiliation:
Infection Control Department, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
*
Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 10701 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (curtisdl23@yahoo.com)
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Abstract

In a culture survey, we found that 42% of hospital privacy curtains were contaminated with vancomycin-resistant enterococci, 22% with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and 4% with Clostridium difficile. Hand imprint cultures demonstrated that these pathogens were easily acquired on hands. Hospital curtains are a potential source for dissemination of healthcare-associated pathogens.

Type
Concise Communication
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 29 , Issue 11 , November 2008 , pp. 1074 - 1076
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2008

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