Isolation Frequency and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Bacterial Pathogens Isolated from Physical Therapeutic Instruments in General Hospitals

Abstract

[Purpose] As demands for physical therapy increase, the numbers of patients in physical therapy rooms are rapidly increasing. However, studies on the state of microorganism infections of physical therapy equipment and their effects on hospital-acquired infections are currently lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine the rate of infections of physical therapy rooms by pathogenic microorganisms. [Methods] Facilities in physical therapy rooms were divided into three groups, therapeutic environments, wet therapeutic equipment, and dry therapeutic equipment, to check the degree of microbial infection and to conduct antimicrobial susceptibility tests on microorganisms that could be isolated. [Results] The main microorganisms isolated from the therapeutic environments were Staphylococcus spp., including Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and 20% of these isolates were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). From the wet therapeutic equipment, Acinetobacter spp., including Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) and A. lowffii, were the primary isolates and 25% of these isolated bacteria were also identified as multi-drug resistant forms. No microorganism was detected from moist hot packs or hot pack units. Diverse bacterial strains were isolated from dry therapeutic equipment, but the isolation rate of Staphylococcus spp. was a little higher than that of other strains. [Conclusion] Our result suggests the possibility of hospital-acquired infection in physical therapy rooms could be very high. Strict hygiene management systems should be established in order to reduce hospital infection during physical therapy.