Bacteria, including staphylococci, may still "rebound" after cleaning and disinfecting hospital surfaces, according to research published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
For this study, researchers sampled bacteria from bed rails of 36 patient beds in a medical intensive care unit before cleaning, half an hour, 2.5 hours, 4.5 hours and 6.5 hours after cleaning. The bed rails were cleaned with either bottled disinfectant or an automated bulk-diluted disinfectant.
Researchers recovered staphylococci and vancomycin-resistant enterococci from hospital beds. The bottled disinfectant and bulk-diluted disinfectant reduced bacterial burden by 99 percent and 45 percent, respectively. However, bacterial levels increased to 30 percent of pre-cleaning levels after 6.5 hours of using the bottled disinfectant. Similarly, bacterial levels rebounded to within 2.5 hours of using the bulk-diluted disinfectant.
For this study, researchers sampled bacteria from bed rails of 36 patient beds in a medical intensive care unit before cleaning, half an hour, 2.5 hours, 4.5 hours and 6.5 hours after cleaning. The bed rails were cleaned with either bottled disinfectant or an automated bulk-diluted disinfectant.
Researchers recovered staphylococci and vancomycin-resistant enterococci from hospital beds. The bottled disinfectant and bulk-diluted disinfectant reduced bacterial burden by 99 percent and 45 percent, respectively. However, bacterial levels increased to 30 percent of pre-cleaning levels after 6.5 hours of using the bottled disinfectant. Similarly, bacterial levels rebounded to within 2.5 hours of using the bulk-diluted disinfectant.
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