Surveillance of Hospital Acquired Infection from Frequently Handled Surfaces in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Hospitals and other health care institutions are engaged in essential and intensive efforts to prevent health care associated infections (HAI). HAIs are of particular concern to infection prevention professionals because many of these are caused by rapidly developing strains of multidrug resistant organisms. The preventive aspect of hospital acquired infection (HAI) surveillance is difficult to assess. Experts agree that careful cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces are essential elements of effective infection prevention programs. Many different hospital staff is involved in monitoring the minimum levels of hospital infection and should be aware of their role in surveillance. Our aim was to investigate the effect of HAI surveillance on frequently handled surfaces from high risk areas and from wards in a tertiary care new teaching hospital. A prospective study was done for a period of 3 months from Jan-Apr 2017. Active surveillance was done on frequently handled surfaces like front desk, door handle, telephone, monitor, cot railings and patients' bedside tables. About 6 swabs were taken from each of these surfaces in various wards and intensive care units (High risk areas) every week. (i.e. 60 swabs per week). Active surveillance of the study showed Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae and aerobic spore bearers in places like front desk, telephone, and injection trolleys which are frequently handled by HCWs and the patients. There is no easy way to keep a hospital clean, though we may claim that it is 100% clean. There is need for a more integrated approach to infection and occupational acquired illness prevention. Removing invisible dirt from today's hospitals and the future ones requires sufficiently trained staff, continuous surveillance of environmental hygiene and bioburden education, constant upgrading of practice and two-way communication between those responsible for cleaning and those responsible for infection control. Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, the common causative agents of hospital acquired infections, present in frequently handled surfaces can be prevented by effective disinfection. Environmental service departments should consider the use of newer disinfectants and no-touch decontamination technologies to improve disinfection of surfaces in health care centres. Regular surface cleaning with 1% hypochlorite helped in prevention of infection in our hospital which was proved in our study, since there was no growth found if surface cleaning was done twice every day in high risk areas, and daily in wards.