hospital door handle design and their contamination with bacteria a real life observational study. are we pulling against closed doors医院门把手设计和他们的现实生活观察研究细菌污染。.pdfVIP

Hospital Door Handle Design and Their Contamination with Bacteria: A Real Life Observational Study. Are We Pulling against Closed Doors? 1 2 2 1 3 2 Hedieh Wojgani , Catherine Kehsa , Elaine Cloutman-Green , Colin Gray , Vanya Gant *, Nigel Klein 1 School of Construction Management Engineering, Reading University, Reading, United Kingdom, 2 Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Unit, Institute of Child Health, UCL, London, United Kingdom, 3 Department of Microbiology, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom Abstract Objective: To determine whether microbial contamination of door handles in two busy intensive care units and one high dependency unit was related to their design, location, and usage. Design: Observational study of the number of viable bacteria on existing door handles of different design at defined entry/ exit points with simultaneous data collection of who used these doors and how often. Setting: Two busy specialised intensive care units and one high dependency unit in a tertiary referral NHS neurological hospital. Main outcome measures: Surface bacterial density on door handles with reference to design, location, and intensity of use. Results: We found a significant correlation between the frequency of movements through a door and the degree to which it was contaminated (p = ,0.01). We further found that the door’s location, design and mode of use all influenced contamination. When compared to push plate designs, pull handles revealed on average a five fold higher level of contamination; lever handles, however, displayed the highest levels of bacterial contamination when adjusted for frequency of use. We also observed