Hospital textiles, are they a possible vehicle for healthcare-associated infections?

Sabina Fijan,Sonja Šostar Turk

doi:10.3390/ijerph9093330

Abstract

Textiles are a common material in healthcare facilities; therefore it is important that they do not pose as a vehicle for the transfer of pathogens to patients or hospital workers. During the course of use hospital textiles become contaminated and laundering is necessary. Laundering of healthcare textiles is most commonly adequate, but in some instances, due to inappropriate disinfection or subsequent recontamination, the textiles may become a contaminated inanimate surface with the possibility to transfer pathogens. In this review we searched the published literature in order to answer four review questions: (1) Are there any reports on the survival of microorganisms on hospital textiles after laundering? (2) Are there any reports that indicate the presence of microorganisms on hospital textiles during use? (3) Are there any reports that microorganisms on textiles are a possible source infection of patients? (4) Are there any reports that microorganisms on textiles are a possible source infection for healthcare workers?

Highlights

The occurrence and undesirable complications from healthcare-associated infections have been well recognized in the literature for the last several decades [1]
When textiles are heavily contaminated with potentially infective body substances, they can contain bacterial loads of 106 to 108 cfu/100 cm2 of fabric
The incidence of healthcare associated infections transmitted from hospital linen is very low especially when evaluated in the context of the volume of items laundered in healthcare settings [5]

Summary

Introduction

The occurrence and undesirable complications from healthcare-associated infections have been well recognized in the literature for the last several decades [1]. Confirm that optimizing the laundering procedure including using high-tech environmental detergents and innovative disinfection agents renders an appropriate disinfection effect, even at laundering temperatures as low as 30 °C as noted in the study [13] with challenge organisms Enterococcus faecium and Enterobacter aerogenes. Christian and co-workers [17] conducted experimental research on low temperature laundering of hospital textiles using economically reasonable chemicals and wash conditions. They examined the disinfection effect of laundering procedures against aerobic chemoorganotrophs, staphylococci and total coliforms. It has been reported that Clostridium difficile [18] spores can survive temperatures and chemical treatment of typical hospital laundering cycles and that cross-contamination of Clostridium difficile spores can occur on bed linen during a wash cycle. Certain strains of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter aerogenes

Reports on the Presence of Microorganisms on Hospital Textiles

Discussion and Conclusions

Findings

56. RAL-GZ 992