Effectiveness of Low-Temperature Domestic Laundry on the Decontamination of Healthcare Workers' Uniforms

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 1103-1108 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Lakdawala ◽  
J. Pham ◽  
M. Shah ◽  
J. Holton
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Bacterial Load ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Log Reduction ◽  
Healthcare Environment ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Before And After

Objective.Most professionals in the healthcare environment wear uniforms. For the purpose of this study, we concentrated on nurses' uniforms. In the United Kingdom, many nurses are expected to launder their uniforms at home by using a domestic washing machine that frequently has low-temperature wash cycles. We have investigated whether the use of low-temperature wash cycles results in a microbiologically acceptable product to wear on the wards.Methods.We have assessed the bioburden on uniforms before and after laundry and the effectiveness of low-temperature wash cycles and ironing on removal of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Acinetobacter baumannii. We did not assess the role of tumble drying.Results.We demonstrate contamination of uniforms by gram-negative bacteria after wash, the removal of MRSA at low-temperature wash cycles in the presence of detergent, and the eradication of gram-negative bacteria after ironing.Conclusions.Our conclusions are that laundry in a domestic situation at 60°C (140°F) for 10 minutes is sufficient to decontaminate hospital uniforms and reduces the bacterial load by more than 7-log reduction, that items left in the pockets are decontaminated to the same extent, that the addition of either a biological detergent or a nonbiological detergent is beneficial in removing MRSA from experimentally contaminated swatches, and that uniforms become recontaminated with low numbers of principally gram-negative bacteria after laundry but that these are effectively removed by ironing.

Impact of a Single Plain Finger Ring on the Bacterial Load on the Hands of Healthcare Workers

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1191-1195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Fagernes ◽  
Egil Lingaas ◽  
Per Bjark
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Paired Comparison ◽  
Bacterial Load ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Quantitative Culture ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Paired Analysis

Objective.To investigate the impact of a single plain finger ring on the number and types of bacteria on the hands of healthcare workers (HCWs).Design.Nonequivalent control groups, posttest only (preexperimental).Methods.A total of 121 HCWs wearing 1 plain ring and 113 HCWs wearing no rings had both hands sampled by the “glove juice” technique. Quantitative culture of the samples was performed and microorganisms were identified.Setting.Two Norwegian acute care hospitals.Participants.A total of 234 HCWs who had physical contact with patients.Results.Total bacterial counts did not differ when hands with rings and hands without rings were compared, both according to nonpaired analysis (which compared the ring-bearing hands of ring-wearing HCWs to the hands of HCWs who did not wear rings [P= .661]) and according to paired analysis (which compared the ring-bearing and ring-free hands of ring-wearing HCWs [P= .071]).Staphylococcus aureuswas recovered from 18.6% of the hands sampled, belonging to 26.9% of the HCWs, but neither paired nor nonpaired analysis showed any association with ring wearing. Gram-negative bacteria were recovered from 20.3% of the hands sampled, belonging to 28.6% of the HCWs. Ring-wearing HCWs were significantly more likely to be carriers of Enterobacteriaceae (P= .006), but paired comparison of the ring-bearing and ring-free hands of these HCWs did not show significant differences (P= .180). Carriage of nonfermentative gram-negative rods did not differ between the 2 groups, by either paired or nonpaired analysis.Conclusions.Wearing a single plain finger ring did not increase the total bacterial load on the hands, nor was it associated with an increased rate of carriage ofS. aureusor nonfermentative gram-negative rods. However, plain rings were associated with an increased rate of Enterobacteriaceae carriage.

Impact of Finger Rings on Transmission of Bacteria During Hand Contact

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 427-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Fagernes ◽  
Egil Lingaas
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Bacterial Load ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hand Contact

Objective.To investigate the impact of finger rings on the transmission of bacteria from the hands of healthcare workers and the impact on the microflora on the hands of healthcare workers in clinical practice.Design.Our study had a nonequivalent control group posttest-only design (pre-experimental). Healthcare workers who wore finger ring(s) on 1 hand and no ring on the other hand (n = 100) and a control group of healthcare workers who did not wear any rings (n = 100) exchanged standardized hand shakes with an investigator wearing sterile gloves. Samples from the gloved hands of the investigators and the bare hands of the healthcare workers were thereafter obtained by the glove juice technique.Setting.Two Norwegian acute care hospitals.Participants.Healthcare workers (n = 200) during ordinary clinical work.Results.A significantly higher bacterial load (odds ratio, 2.63 [95% confidence interval, 1.28-5.43]; P = .009) and a significantly higher number of bacteria transmitted (odds ratio, 2.43 [95% confidence interval, 1.44-4.13]; P = .001) were associated with ringed hands, compared with control hands. However, a multiple analysis of covariance revealed no statistically significant effect of rings alone. The prevalence of nonfermentative gram-negative bacteria (42% vs 26%) and Enterobacteriaceae (26% vs 13%) was also significantly higher among persons who wore rings than among persons who did not wear rings. However, no statistically significant differences in the incidence of transmission of these pathogens were detected after hand contact. The prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and incidence of transmission of S. aureus were the same in both groups.Conclusions.Wearing finger rings increases the carriage rate of nonfermentative gram-negative bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae on the hands of healthcare workers. However, no statistically significant differences in the incidence of transmission of nonfermentative gram-negative bacteria or Enterobacteriaceae were detected between the healthcare workers who wore rings and those who did not.

scholarly journals MexAB-OprM Efflux Pump Interaction with the Peptidoglycan of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5328
Author(s):  
Miao Ma ◽  
Margaux Lustig ◽  
Michèle Salem ◽  
Dominique Mengin-Lecreulx ◽  
Gilles Phan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Outer Membrane ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Active Efflux

One of the major families of membrane proteins found in prokaryote genome corresponds to the transporters. Among them, the resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) transporters are highly studied, as being responsible for one of the most problematic mechanisms used by bacteria to resist to antibiotics, i.e., the active efflux of drugs. In Gram-negative bacteria, these proteins are inserted in the inner membrane and form a tripartite assembly with an outer membrane factor and a periplasmic linker in order to cross the two membranes to expulse molecules outside of the cell. A lot of information has been collected to understand the functional mechanism of these pumps, especially with AcrAB-TolC from Escherichia coli, but one missing piece from all the suggested models is the role of peptidoglycan in the assembly. Here, by pull-down experiments with purified peptidoglycans, we precise the MexAB-OprM interaction with the peptidoglycan from Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, highlighting a role of the peptidoglycan in stabilizing the MexA-OprM complex and also differences between the two Gram-negative bacteria peptidoglycans.

The role of Gram-negative bacteria in skin and soft tissue infections

2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Russo ◽  
Enrico Maria Trecarichi ◽  
Carlo Torti
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Soft Tissue Infections ◽  
Gram Negative

scholarly journals Human genetic deficiencies reveal the roles of complement in the inflammatory network: Lessons from nature

2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (37) ◽  
pp. 15861-15866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Tore Lappegård ◽  
Dorte Christiansen ◽  
Anne Pharo ◽  
Ebbe Billmann Thorgersen ◽  
Bernt Christian Hellerud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Enzyme Release ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Cytokines And Chemokines ◽  
Ifn Γ ◽  
Inducible Protein ◽  
The Complement System

Complement component C5 is crucial for experimental animal inflammatory tissue damage; however, its involvement in human inflammation is incompletely understood. The responses to Gram-negative bacteria were here studied taking advantage of human genetic complement-deficiencies—nature's own knockouts—including a previously undescribed C5 defect. Such deficiencies provide a unique tool for investigating the biological role of proteins. The experimental conditions allowed cross-talk between the different inflammatory pathways using a whole blood model based on the anticoagulant lepirudin, which does not interfere with the complement system. Expression of tissue factor, cell adhesion molecules, and oxidative burst depended highly on C5, mediated through the activation product C5a, whereas granulocyte enzyme release relied mainly on C3 and was C5a-independent. Release of cytokines and chemokines was mediated to varying degrees by complement and CD14; for example, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-8 were more dependent on complement than IFN-γ and IL-6, which were highly dependent on CD14. IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) and IFN-γ inducible protein 10 (IP-10) were fully dependent on CD14 and inversely regulated by complement, that is, complement deficiency and complement inhibition enhanced their release. Granulocyte responses were mainly complement-dependent, whereas monocyte responses were more dependent on CD14. Notably, all responses were abolished by combined neutralization of complement and CD14. The present study provides important insight into the comprehensive role of complement in human inflammatory responses to Gram-negative bacteria.

Healthcare Workers’ Mobile Phones as a Possible Vehicle of Nosocomial Pathogens and the Role of Different Disinfectants in their Decontamination

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Rana E. Elgabeery ◽  
Radwa A. Eissa ◽  
Sohair M. Soliman ◽  
Naglaa F. Ghoname
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Colony Count ◽  
Drug Resistant ◽  
University Hospitals ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Before And After

Background: As Mobile Phones (MPs) aren’t cleaned routinely and have been touched during patient’s examination, they may become contaminated with hospital pathogens. Objectives: Screen MPs of Health care workers (HCWs) for pathogens and verify the effect of disinfectants in their decontamination. Methods: A questionnaire was submitted by 160 HCWs in Tanta University Hospitals. Samples were taken from their MPs and subjected to pour plate counting before and after disinfection. Standard identification and antibiotic susceptibility of isolates were done. Results: Colony count was greater in MPs used while caring for patients or inside restroom, and was less in regularly cleaned MPs. All tested disinfectants reduced the colony count significantly. Pathogens were isolated from 84.38% of samples and 36.25% of them were Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs). Conclusion: Using MPs at critical care areas and restroom may contribute to their contamination with pathogens. Regular disinfection of MPs can reduce this contamination.

scholarly journals Relationship Between Membrane Vesicles, Extracellular ATP and Biofilm Formation in Antarctic Gram-Negative Bacteria

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Baeza ◽  
Elena Mercade
Keyword(s):  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Extracellular Atp ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Survival ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
And Control

Abstract Biofilms offer a safe environment that favors bacterial survival; for this reason, most pathogenic and environmental bacteria live integrated in biofilm communities. The development of biofilms is complex and involves many factors, which need to be studied in order to understand bacterial behavior and control biofilm formation when necessary. We used a collection of cold-adapted Antarctic Gram-negative bacteria to study whether their ability to form biofilms is associated with a capacity to produce membrane vesicles and secrete extracellular ATP. In most of the studied strains, no correlation was found between biofilm formation and these two factors. Only Shewanella vesiculosa M7T secreted high levels of extracellular ATP, and its membrane vesicles caused a significant increase in the speed and amount of biofilm formation. In this strain, an important portion of the exogenous ATP was contained in membrane vesicles, where it was protected from apyrase treatment. These results confirm that ATP influences biofilm formation. Although the role of extracellular ATP in prokaryotes is still not well understood, the metabolic cost of its production suggests it has an important function, such as a role in biofilm formation. Thus, the liberation of extracellular ATP through membrane vesicles and its function deserve further study.

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