Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn Centre
Several retrospective studies have identified hospital sinks as reservoirs of Gram-negative bacteria. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the bacterial transmission from sinks to patients and if self-disinfecting sinks could reduce this risk. Samples were collected weekly from sin...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/4/965 |
| _version_ | 1797604252409921536 |
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| author | Maria Gideskog Tina Falkeborn Jenny Welander Åsa Melhus |
| author_facet | Maria Gideskog Tina Falkeborn Jenny Welander Åsa Melhus |
| author_sort | Maria Gideskog |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Several retrospective studies have identified hospital sinks as reservoirs of Gram-negative bacteria. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the bacterial transmission from sinks to patients and if self-disinfecting sinks could reduce this risk. Samples were collected weekly from sinks (self-disinfecting, treated with boiling water, not treated) and patients in the Burn Centre at Linköping University Hospital, Sweden. The antibiotic susceptibility of Gram-negative isolates was tested, and eight randomly chosen patient isolates and their connected sink isolates were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS). Of 489 sink samples, 232 (47%) showed growth. The most frequent findings were <i>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</i> (<i>n</i> = 130), <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> (<i>n</i> = 128), and <i>Acinetobacter</i> spp. (<i>n</i> = 55). Bacterial growth was observed in 20% of the samplings from the self-disinfecting sinks and in 57% from the sinks treated with boiling water (<i>p</i> = 0.0029). WGS recognized one transmission of <i>Escherichia coli</i> sampled from an untreated sink to a patient admitted to the same room. In conclusion, the results showed that sinks can serve as reservoirs of Gram-negative bacteria and that self-disinfecting sinks can reduce the transmission risk. Installing self-disinfecting sinks in intensive care units is an important measure in preventing nosocomial infection among critically ill patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:43:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-915a1a3ec12441039891835ff9993333 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:43:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-915a1a3ec12441039891835ff99933332023-11-17T20:33:05ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072023-04-0111496510.3390/microorganisms11040965Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn CentreMaria Gideskog0Tina Falkeborn1Jenny Welander2Åsa Melhus3Department of Communicable Disease and Infection Control, Linköping University Hospital, SE-581 85 Linköping, SwedenDepartment of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, SE-581 85 Linköping, SwedenDepartment of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, SE-581 85 Linköping, SwedenSection of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, SwedenSeveral retrospective studies have identified hospital sinks as reservoirs of Gram-negative bacteria. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the bacterial transmission from sinks to patients and if self-disinfecting sinks could reduce this risk. Samples were collected weekly from sinks (self-disinfecting, treated with boiling water, not treated) and patients in the Burn Centre at Linköping University Hospital, Sweden. The antibiotic susceptibility of Gram-negative isolates was tested, and eight randomly chosen patient isolates and their connected sink isolates were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS). Of 489 sink samples, 232 (47%) showed growth. The most frequent findings were <i>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</i> (<i>n</i> = 130), <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> (<i>n</i> = 128), and <i>Acinetobacter</i> spp. (<i>n</i> = 55). Bacterial growth was observed in 20% of the samplings from the self-disinfecting sinks and in 57% from the sinks treated with boiling water (<i>p</i> = 0.0029). WGS recognized one transmission of <i>Escherichia coli</i> sampled from an untreated sink to a patient admitted to the same room. In conclusion, the results showed that sinks can serve as reservoirs of Gram-negative bacteria and that self-disinfecting sinks can reduce the transmission risk. Installing self-disinfecting sinks in intensive care units is an important measure in preventing nosocomial infection among critically ill patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/4/965sinkwater trapbacterial transmissionself-disinfecting sinkinfection control<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> |
| spellingShingle | Maria Gideskog Tina Falkeborn Jenny Welander Åsa Melhus Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn Centre Microorganisms sink water trap bacterial transmission self-disinfecting sink infection control <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> |
| title | Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn Centre |
| title_full | Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn Centre |
| title_fullStr | Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn Centre |
| title_full_unstemmed | Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn Centre |
| title_short | Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn Centre |
| title_sort | source control of gram negative bacteria using self disinfecting sinks in a swedish burn centre |
| topic | sink water trap bacterial transmission self-disinfecting sink infection control <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/4/965 |
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