Effectiveness of antimicrobial hospital curtains on reducing bacterial contamination—A multicenter study. (18th December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Luk, Shik; Chow, Viola Chi Ying; Yu, Kelvin Chung Ho; Hsu, Enoch Know; Tsang, Ngai Chong; Chuang, Vivien Wai Man; Lai, Christopher Koon Chi; Hui, Mamie; Lee, Rodney Allan; Lai, Wai Man; Que, Tak Lun; Fung, Sau Chun; To, Wing Kin; Cheng, Vincent Chi Chung; Wong, Andrew Tin Yau
• Is Part Of: Infection control and hospital epidemiology. Volume 40:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 164
• Page End: 170
• Publication Date: 2018-12-18
• Subjects: Nosocomial infections -- Epidemiology -- Periodicals; Health facilities -- Sanitation -- Periodicals; Hospital buildings -- Sanitation -- Periodicals; Cross Infection -- Periodicals; Epidemiology -- Periodicals; Hospitals -- Periodicals; Infection Control -- Periodicals; 614.44
• DOI: 10.1017/ice.2018.315
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0899-823X

Abstract

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 cm 2, 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.