Nahed A Al Laham1. 1. Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Al Azhar University, Gaza, Palestine. dr.allaham@hotmail.com
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in general operating theaters at public and private hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine to determine the prevalence of bacterial contamination of different objects. METHODS: Swabs were collected from 21 items that were distributed over three categories (equipment, environment and personnel). In total, 243 swabs were collected at pre- and post-operation stages and were cultured and identified using standard microbiological procedures. RESULTS: The results show that 24.7% of the swabs were contaminated with microorganisms. The equipment, environment and personnel were responsible for 45%, 48.3% and 6.7% of contamination, respectively. The rate (26.9%) of contamination in the post-operation samples was higher than in the pre-operation samples (22.6%), but the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, there was not a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of contamination in private (28.7%) compared to public hospitals (21.8%). Of the seven bacterial genera that were recovered, the highest percentage belonged to Staphylococcus spp. (45.3%) followed by Enterobacter spp. (23.4%). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals a moderate percentage of contamination in our public and private hospital general operating theaters, which may increase the risk factors for developing surgical-site infections. These observations justify more attention being paid to infection-control efforts in our hospitals. Copyright Â
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in general operating theaters at public and private hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine to determine the prevalence of bacterial contamination of different objects. METHODS: Swabs were collected from 21 items that were distributed over three categories (equipment, environment and personnel). In total, 243 swabs were collected at pre- and post-operation stages and were cultured and identified using standard microbiological procedures. RESULTS: The results show that 24.7% of the swabs were contaminated with microorganisms. The equipment, environment and personnel were responsible for 45%, 48.3% and 6.7% of contamination, respectively. The rate (26.9%) of contamination in the post-operation samples was higher than in the pre-operation samples (22.6%), but the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, there was not a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of contamination in private (28.7%) compared to public hospitals (21.8%). Of the seven bacterial genera that were recovered, the highest percentage belonged to Staphylococcus spp. (45.3%) followed by Enterobacter spp. (23.4%). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals a moderate percentage of contamination in our public and private hospital general operating theaters, which may increase the risk factors for developing surgical-site infections. These observations justify more attention being paid to infection-control efforts in our hospitals. Copyright Â
Authors: Nahed Al Laham; Kalyan D Chavda; Astrid V Cienfuegos-Gallet; Barry N Kreiswirth; Liang Chen Journal: Antimicrob Agents Chemother Date: 2017-10-24 Impact factor: 5.191
Authors: Nahed Al Laham; José R Mediavilla; Liang Chen; Nahed Abdelateef; Farid Abu Elamreen; Christine C Ginocchio; Denis Pierard; Karsten Becker; Barry N Kreiswirth Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-03-17 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Maximilian Mora; Alexander Mahnert; Kaisa Koskinen; Manuela R Pausan; Lisa Oberauner-Wappis; Robert Krause; Alexandra K Perras; Gregor Gorkiewicz; Gabriele Berg; Christine Moissl-Eichinger Journal: Front Microbiol Date: 2016-10-13 Impact factor: 5.640