Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-15T20:36:52.557Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Beyond the Hawthorne Effect: Reduction of Clostridium difficile Environmental Contamination through Active Intervention to Improve Cleaning Practices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Dubert M. Guerrero ,
Philip C. Carling ,
Lucy A. Jury ,
Suresh Ponnada ,
Michelle M. Nerandzic  and
Curtis J. Donskey
Dubert M. Guerrero*
Affiliation:
University Hospitals of Cleveland Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio; and Sanford Health, Fargo, North Dakota
Philip C. Carling
Affiliation:
Carney Hospital, Dorchester, Massachusetts
Lucy A. Jury
Affiliation:
Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Suresh Ponnada
Affiliation:
Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Michelle M. Nerandzic
Affiliation:
Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Curtis J. Donskey
Affiliation:
Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
*
Sanford Health, 801 Broadway N, Fargo, ND 58122 (dubert_md@yahoo.com)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Education and passive observation resulted in a significant improvement in housekeeper disinfection of nontoxigenic Clostridium difficile spores artificially inoculated onto surfaces in C. difficile infection rooms. A further significant reduction occurred with direct supervision and real-time feedback, suggesting that optimal disinfection is achieved by working closely with housekeepers.

Type
Concise Communication
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 34 , Issue 5: Special Topic Issue: The Role of the Environment in Infection Prevention , May 2013 , pp. 524 - 526
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Sethi, AK, Al-Nassir, WN, Nerandzic, MM, Bobulsky, GS, Donskey, CJ. Persistence of skin contamination and environmental shedding of Clostridium difficile during and after treatment of C. difficile infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2010;31:21–27.Google Scholar
2.Wilcox, MH, Fawley, WN, Wigglesworth, N, et al.Comparison of the effect of detergent versus hypochlorite cleaning on environmental contamination and incidence of Clostridium difficile infection. J Hosp Infect 2003;54:109–114.Google Scholar
3.Guerrero, DM, Nerandzic, MM, Jury, LA, Jinno, S, Chang, S, Donskey, CJ. Acquisition of spores on gloved hands after contact with the skin of patients with Clostridium difficile infection and with environmental surfaces in their rooms. Am J Infect Control 2012;40:556–558.Google Scholar
4.Hayden, MK, Bonten, MJ, Blom, DW, Lyle, EA, van de Vijver, DA, Weinstein, RA. Reduction in acquisition of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus after enforcement of routine environmental cleaning measures. Clin Infect Dis 2006;42:1552–1560.Google Scholar
5.Goodman, ER, Platt, R, Bass, R, Onderdonk, AB, Yokoe, DS, Huang, SS. Impact of an environmental cleaning intervention on the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci on surfaces in intensive care unit rooms. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2008;29:593–599.Google Scholar
6.Eckstein, BC, Adams, DA, Eckstein, EC, et al.Reduction of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus and Clostridium difficile contamination of environmental surfaces after an intervention to improve cleaning methods. BMC Infect Dis 2007;7:61.Google Scholar
7.Carling, PC, Briggs, JL, Perkins, J, Highlander, D. Improved cleaning of patient rooms using a new targeting method. Clin Infect Dis 2006;42:385–388.Google Scholar
8.Dubberke, ER, Gerding, DN, Classen, D, et al.Strategies to prevent Clostridium difficile infections in acute care hospitals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2008;29(suppl 1):S81–S92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Sehulster, L, Chinn, RY; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. Guidelines for environmental infection control in healthcare facilities: recommendations of CDC and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). MMWR Recomm Rep 2003;52(RR-10):1–42.Google Scholar
10.Lewis, T, Griffith, C, Gallo, M, Weinbren, M. A modified ATP benchmark for evaluating the cleaning of some hospital environmental surfaces. J Hosp Infect 2008;69:156–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed