For the first time, researchers have demonstrated a statistically significant association between the use of single-use sharps containers and lower Clostridium difficile infection rates in hospitals. They published their results in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Although sharps disposal containers are ubiquitous in healthcare facilities, there is little data on what role they play in the transmission of pathogens.
To address this information shortcoming, researchers conducted a survey in 2013 of roughly 2,000 hospitals, collecting data on their use of sharps containers. Then, they linked the hospitals' responses to the 2012 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review dataset and examined the differences in C. diff rates between hospitals using single-use versus reusable containers.
All total, 604 hospitals completed the survey, 539 of which also provided data on their use of sharps containers in 2012. Based on the information gathered from these sources, the researchers discovered the following.
1. The majority of hospitals surveyed (72 percent) used reusable sharps containers in fiscal year 2012.
2. Whether hospitals used single-use or reusable sharps containers differed significantly by region, bedsize, ownership, annual discharges and urbanicity.
3. In bivariate regression, hospitals using single use sharps containers had significantly lower rates of C. diff infections compared to hospitals using reusable sharps containers. The relationship persisted in multivariable regression, even after controlling for other hospital characteristics.
"Future research should investigate the potential for environmental contamination of reusable containers and the role they may play in pathogen transmission," wrote study author Monika Pogorzelska-Maziarz, PhD.
Dr. Pogorzelska-Maziarz presented the findings of the study at the 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology conference in the form of a poster, which can be accessed here.
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