A splash-reducing clinical handwash basin reduces droplet-mediated dispersal from a sink contaminated with Gram-negative bacteria in a laboratory model system

Paz Aranega Bou*, C. Cornbill, Neville Verlander, Ginny Moore

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Infection prevention strategies need to be identified and evaluated to reduce the risk associated with contaminated hospital sinks. This study used settle plates to compare the dispersal of Gram-negative bacteria from a conventional, rear-draining clinical handwash basin (CHWB) and a ‘splash-reducing’ CHWB with and/or without impaired drainage. Two scenarios were assessed: dispersal from a contaminated basin and dispersal from a contaminated drain. The associated tap was operated for 1 min and, for all contamination scenarios, the ‘splash-reducing’ CHWB had significantly lower odds of spreading contamination than the conventional CHWB.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)171-174
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Hospital Infection
Volume114
Early online date22 Apr 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: The research was supported by the National Institute for Health Research ( NIHR ) Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance ( NIHR200915 ) at University of Oxford ( NIHR200915 ) in partnership with Public Health England (PHE). Armitage Shanks (UK) provided the Contour 21+ washbasin free of charge. However, Armitage Shanks did not contribute to the study design, research outcome, or the writing or editing of the manuscript.

This work was supported by Public Health England (PHE). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of PHE or any other government agency.

Open Access: No Open Access licence

Publisher Copyright: Crown Copyright © 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Healthcare Infection Society. All rights reserved.

Citation: P. Aranega-Bou, C. Cornbill, N.Q. Verlander, G. Moore, A splash-reducing clinical handwash basin reduces droplet-mediated dispersal from a sink contaminated with Gram-negative bacteria in a laboratory model system,
Journal of Hospital Infection, Volume 114, 2021, Pages 171-174, ISSN 0195-6701.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.04.017.

Keywords

  • CHWB
  • Dispersal
  • Engineering interventions
  • Gram-negative bacteria
  • Infection prevention
  • Water safety

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