Risk of Cross Transmission with Point-of-Care Ultrasound System: Effect of a Glass-Sealed Control Panel on Microbial Contamination

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 1539-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armand Mekontso Dessap ◽  
Chloe Jansen ◽  
Florence Boissier ◽  
Keyvan Razazi ◽  
Nicolas de Prost ◽  
...  

Contamination of a point-of-care ultrasound system (POCUS) mainly involved electrocardiography accessories and included pathogenic microorganisms. The use of a glass-sealed control panel significantly facilitated its cleaning and reduced its bacterial contamination compared with a standard control panel. Overall hand hygiene compliance during examinations with POCUS was poor.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(12):1539–1542

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Rutala ◽  
Matthew S. White ◽  
Maria F. Gergen ◽  
David J. Weber

Background.Computers are ubiquitous in the healthcare setting and have been shown to be contaminated with potentially pathogenic microorganisms. This study was performed to determine the degree of microbial contamination, the efficacy of different disinfectants, and the cosmetic and functional effects of the disinfectants on the computer keyboards.Methods.We assessed the effectiveness of 6 different disinfectants (1 each containing chlorine, alcohol, or phenol and 3 containing quaternary ammonium) against 3 test organisms (oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [ORSA], Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus species) inoculated onto study computer keyboards. We also assessed the computer keyboards for functional and cosmetic damage after disinfectant use.Results.Potential pathogens cultured from more than 50% of the computers included coagulase-negative staphylococci (100% of keyboards), diphtheroids (80%), Micrococcus species (72%), and Bacillus species (64%). Other pathogens cultured included ORSA (4% of keyboards), OSSA (4%), vancomycin-susceptible Enterococcus species (12%), and nonfermentative gram-negative rods (36%). All disinfectants, as well as the sterile water control, were effective at removing or inactivating more than 95% of the test bacteria. No functional or cosmetic damage to the computer keyboards was observed after 300 disinfection cycles.Conclusions.Our data suggest that microbial contamination of keyboards is prevalent and that keyboards may be successfully decontaminated with disinfectants. Keyboards should be disinfected daily or when visibly soiled or if they become contaminated with blood.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0254658
Author(s):  
O. G. Dawodu ◽  
R. B. Akanbi

Automated Teller Machines (ATM) are visited everyday by millions of people. This machine is accessible to the general public irrespective of class, age or race. The contact point of all ATM machines is the hand which on their own are ‘vaults’ of microorganisms. An elaborate survey was taken for complete assessment of possible microbial contamination in the Federal Polytechnic Ede campus. Selected ATM machines on campus were used as case study to characterize, identify and determine the degree of bacterial contamination of microorganisms and their potential as reservoir of microbes. Swabs were collected from each ATM screen, buttons, floor, user’s hand, and exposure of plates. After collection of the samples, they were plated in nutrient agar. The results showed the presence of increased bacterial count subsequently, most pathogens on characterization revealed the genus of the particular organisms E. coli, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella, Micrococcus, Salmonella and Serratia. The study showed the potential hazard inherent in ATM machine usage and draws attention to our level of hand hygiene compliance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew W. Lawrence ◽  
James Blanks ◽  
Ruben Ayala ◽  
Douglas Talk ◽  
Diana Macian ◽  
...  

POCUS Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-14
Author(s):  
Hadiel Kaiyasah, MD, MRCS (Glasgow), ABHS-GS ◽  
Maryam Al Ali, MBBS

Soft tissue ultrasound (ST-USS) has been shown to be of utmost importance in assessing patients with soft tissue infections in the emergency department or critical care unit. It aids in guiding the management of soft tissue infection based on the sonographic findings.


POCUS Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Rimi Sambi, MD ◽  
Heather Sawula, MD ◽  
Brent Wolfrom, MD ◽  
Joseph Newbigging, MD

As point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) becomes increasingly popular and a standard of care in many clinical settings, the interest for integration in medical undergraduate curriculum is also growing [1]. This project aims to assess whether formal bedside Focused Abdominal Scan for Trauma (FAST) exam training of medical students increases their knowledge and comfort with the use of bedside ultrasound in a family medicine setting at Queen’s University. Third year medical students (n=18) were recruited to participate in a training session involving a 1-hour online video and 2-hour hands-on session. Knowledge based surveys were completed before and after the training. A survey was completed 4 months after the teaching session evaluating knowledge retention, comfort, and application of skills. Student knowledge of PoCUS and FAST increased and was maintained (pre-training 56%±20%, post-training 82%±10%, p<0.001). Self-evaluation of comfort performing a FAST examination (5-point Likert scale) similarly increased post-training session (pre-training 1.4±0.8, post-training 3.8±0.9, p<0.005), but decreased 4 months later (3±1.2, p<0.005). Students in this study were unanimously interested in ultrasound training and the methods used effectively increased theoretical knowledge and comfort with use. Students did not retain their comfort levels with FAST exam 4 months after the training session, nor did they have the opportunity to utilize the skills learned. Further evidence is required to identify the applicability of these results to undergraduate curriculum development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-51
Author(s):  
Suha S Hassan ◽  
Nidhal H. Ghaib ◽  
Batool H Al-Ghurabi

Background: The microorganisms can impend the life of health care professional and particularly the dental practitioners. They can be transmitted by different ways like airborne and droplet transmission. The current study was carried out to identify whether the arch wires that received from the manufactures are free from microbial contamination and to determine the bacterial species attached to the arch wires. Materials and Methods: This study involved eighty samples, consisted of two types of arch wires (nitinol and stainless-steel) from four companies (3M, G&H, Jiscop, OrthoTechnology). These wires inserted in a plane tube that contains 10 -ml of (Tris [tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane] and EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) tris-EDTA and brain heart infusion (BHI) broth. A 0.1 ml was withdrawn from the tube and spread on agar plates. The control groups consist of 16 plane tube (8 tubes with tris-EDTA and other 8 tubes with (BHI). Results: Microbial sampling yielded growth from 5 of the 80 arch wires. The predominant bacteria that isolated were Bacillus spp. No growth was recovered from 75 of the samples and from controls. The bacteria were isolated by BHI reagent and no growth was observed by tris-EDTA reagent with statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The Bacillus spp. found only in the G&H and Jiscop companies, however, no statistically significant difference was found among them (P>0.05). With regard to the presence and distribution of bacteria according to the types of wires, the present results clarified that cases of contamination with Bacillus spp. were found in the nitinol arch wires with statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusions: The results of the current study revealed low count of bacterial contamination in the two types of companies (G&H and Jiscop). Not all materials that received from the manufactures are free from contamination and an effective sterilization regimen is needed to avoid cross-contamination.


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