scholarly journals Copper Alloy Touch Surfaces in Healthcare Facilities: An Effective Solution to Prevent Bacterial Spreading

Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Colin ◽  
Flora Klingelschmitt ◽  
Emilie Charpentier ◽  
Jérôme Josse ◽  
Lukshe Kanagaratnam ◽  
...  

In the healthcare environment, microorganisms’ cross-transmission between inanimate surfaces and patients or healthcare workers can lead to healthcare-associated infections. A recent interest has grown to create antimicrobial copper touch surfaces, in order to counteract microbial spread in the healthcare environment. For the first time, five French long-term care facilities were at 50% fitted with copper alloys door handles and handrails. Related to the environmental bacterial contamination, 1400 samples were carried out on copper and control surfaces over three years after copper installation. In addition, some copper door handles were taken from the different facilities, and their specific activity against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was tested in vitro. In comparison to control surfaces, copper door handles and handrails revealed significantly lower contamination levels. This difference was observed in the five long-term care facilities and it persists through the three years of the study. High and extreme levels of bacterial contamination were less frequent on copper surfaces. Although, the antibacterial activity of copper surfaces against MRSA was lowered after three years of regular use, it was still significant as compared to inert control surfaces. Therefore, copper containing surfaces are promising actors in the non-spreading of environmental bacterial contamination in healthcare facilities.

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1337-1341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadim Cassir ◽  
Jean-Christophe Delarozière ◽  
Gregory Dubourg ◽  
Marion Delord ◽  
Jean-Christophe Lagier ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVETo describe and analyze a large outbreak of Clostridium difficile 027 (CD-027) infections.METHODSConfirmed CD-027 cases were defined as CD infection plus real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR) positive for CD-027. Clinical and microbiological data on patients with CD-027 infection were collected from January 2013 to December 2015 in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region (southeastern France).RESULTSIn total, 19 healthcare facilities reported 144 CD-027 infections (112 confirmed and 32 probable CD-027 infections) during a 22-month period outbreak. Although the incidence rate per 10,000 bed days was lower in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) than in acute care facilities (0.05 vs 0.14; P<.001), cases occurred mainly in LTCFs, one of which was the probable source of this outbreak. After centralization of CD testing, the rate of confirmed CD-027 cases from LTCFs or residential-care homes increased significantly (69% vs 92%; P<.001). Regarding confirmed CD-027 patients, the sex ratio and the median age were 0.53 and 84.2 years, respectively. The 30-day crude mortality rate was 31%. Most patients (96%) had received antibiotics within 3 months prior to the CD colitis diagnosis. During the study period, the rate of patients with CD-027 (compared with all patients tested in the point-of-care laboratories) decreased significantly (P=.03).CONCLUSIONSA large CD-027 outbreak occurred in southeastern France as a consequence of an initial cluster of cases in a single LTCF. Successful interventions included rapid isolation and testing of residents with potentially infectious diarrhea and cohorting of case patients in a specialized infectious diseases ward to optimize management.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1–5


1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 764-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara A. Goldrick

AbstractDue to the rapid transfer of patients from the acute-care setting, the intensity of nursing care among residents in long-term-care facilities (LTCFs) has increased, transforming today's LTCFs into subacute healthcare facilities. Given the increased risk of infection among residents in LTCFs and the associated morbidity and mortality, evaluation of infection control programs in skilled nursing LTCFs is warranted. This article addresses the current structure and process of infection control programs in skilled nursing LTCFs.


2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Sharp ◽  
Kate L. Martin ◽  
Kate Martin

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