Even after being cleaned, hospital mattresses may be contaminated with microorganisms, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
As part of their cross-sectional study, researchers obtained samples from the surface of 51 hospital mattresses, spread on replicate organism detection and counting plates and cultivated the samples for 48 hours. After testing the samples for antimicrobial susceptibility, they found 26 mattresses had resistant bacteria on the surface.
The most common species of microorganisms found included Acinetobacter baumannii (69.2 percent), Klebsiella pneumoniae (11.5 percent) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.5 percent).
"The phenotypic similarity of A. baumannii in inpatient units (mattresses) suggests circulation of the same strain," concluded the study authors. "These results highlight the importance of controlling the potential spread of microorganisms through hospital mattresses."
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