Comparison of Bacterial Contamination Rates Between Isolation and Non-isolation Rooms

West Virginia University400 enrolled

Overview

This study is to determine if medication cabinets located outside of isolation rooms in hospitals and their contents, particularly medications and the delivery folders are at a higher risk of having harmful bacteria on them.

Studies show high touch areas maybe contaminated with organisms such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. MRSA can live on hospital surfaces for 9-14 days. Patients in rooms that were previously MRSA isolation rooms are at higher risk for developing a hospital-acquired infection. This study is to determine if medication cabinets located outside of MRSA isolation rooms and their contents, particularly medications and the pharmacy delivery folders are at a higher risk of having MRSA colonization on them. This study will use conventional methods to determine if MRSA colonization is present and compare results between non-isolation and isolation rooms. This will evaluate if alternate measures for the reduction of MRSA colonization are needed for the MRSA isolation rooms in regards to medication delivery and storage.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

400

Conditions

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Eligibility

Sex: ALLHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Patient rooms with isolation status for MRSA * Patient rooms without isolation status for MRSA for 14 days Exclusion Criteria: * Rooms without medication cabinets directly outside the room

Locations (1)

West Virginia University Hospitals

Morgantown, West Virginia, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Presence of MRSA colonization

Swabbing of four areas of the medication cabinet will be performed (keypad, handle, medication folder and a medication). A Semi-quantitative sampling technique will be used to collect the samples. A sterile saline moistened sterile cotton tip swab will be used to swab the specified areas. The swabs will then be used to inoculate sheep blood agar plates in 4 quadrants. The plates will be incubated for 48 hours. The number of quadrants with growth will be identified. Individual colonies will be removed from the plate with an inoculation loop, then streaked onto a second sheep blood agar plate. The second plates will be incubated for 48 hours. The colonies will then be run through standard identification tests to determine if the colonies are MRSA or not. A comparison will be made between non-isolation and isolation rooms.

Time frame: Hospital stay, an expected average of 14 days

Secondary Outcomes

Quantification of MRSA colonization

Time frame: Hospital stay, an expected average of 14 days

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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