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SG-APSIC1023: Contamination of the geriatric medicine outpatient rehabilitation gym environment and the effectiveness of our current disinfection methods with patient hand hygiene practices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2023

Sabrina Toh
Affiliation:
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore
Foo Meow Ling
Affiliation:
Singapore, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore
Li Dun Li
Affiliation:
Singapore, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore
Calvin Loh
Affiliation:
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore
Toylyn Lee
Affiliation:
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore
Angeline Seah
Affiliation:
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore

Abstract

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Objectives: To quantify the microorganism burden of rehabilitation gym equipment surfaces as well as to assess the effectiveness of patient’s practice of hand hygiene and our current disinfection methods to reduce burden and transmission of microorganisms during rehabilitation sessions. Methods: A prospective study of environmental contamination using microbiology culture in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital Geriatric Medicine Outpatient Rehabilitation Gym. Results: For both the control and intervention group, the total aerobic bacterial count on the gym equipment after patient use is significant and increase up to 360 CFU per swab. In the control and intervention groups, the total aerobic bacterial counts on the gym equipment before patients’ use were negligible (<10 CFU per swab). The total aerobic bacterial count of the equipment remained negligible (<10 CFU per swab) after patient use and immediate disinfection. We detected discrepancies between the results of the total aerobic bacterial count after patient use between the control and intervention groups. Conclusions: Outpatient rehabilitation gyms are potential reservoirs of microorganisms, which may further contribute to the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens. In this study, an intervention in which cleaning equipment was wiped with alcohol wipes was effective in reducing microorganism transmission in the rehabilitation gym environment and should be considered as part of our infection control strategy. The additional step of involving our patients in using hand rub before the start of their therapy sessions can provide additional benefit in reducing microorganism transmission only if patients adhere to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended 7 steps of proper hand rub. Good patient education on hand hygiene is equally as important as that for healthcare professionals to control environmental contamination.

Type
Environmental Hygiene
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America