Abstract
Bacterial contamination of floors and other surfaces in the operating suite has been investigated by contact impression plates during the past five years. Colony counts of the floors of operating rooms, cleaned with disinfectant, were 3.3 c.f.u./10 cm2; on the floors of semi-clean and dirty areas, cleaned with detergent, colony counts were 44.8 and 71.4 c.f.u./10 cm2 respectively. The highest colony counts of 487.4 c.f.u./10 cm2 were found in the dressing rooms, the floors of which were covered with carpets, cleaned with a vacuum cleaner. Mean bacterial numbers on surfaces of various equipment in operating rooms, cleaned with disinfectant, were 2.8 c.f.u./10 cm2. Bacterial numbers on surfaces decreased markedly from 253.2 to 11.9 c.f.u./10 cm2 following the use of disinfectant. Bacterial species found from various surfaces were mainly coagulase-negative staphylococci, derived from human beings. In the light of these findings the regular use of disinfectant for cleaning of the floors and other surfaces in operating rooms is advisable.
Full text
PDF







Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Ayliffe G. A., Collins B. J., Lowbury E. J., Babb J. R., Lilly H. A. Ward floors and other surfaces as reservoirs of hospital infection. J Hyg (Lond) 1967 Dec;65(4):515–536. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400046052. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ayliffe G. A., Collins B. J., Lowbury E. J. Cleaning and disinfection of hospital floors. Br Med J. 1966 Aug 20;2(5511):442–445. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5511.442. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Froud P. J., Alder V. G., Gillespie W. A. Contaminated areas in operating-theatres. Lancet. 1966 Oct 29;2(7470):961–963. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(66)90557-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hambraeus A., Bengtsson S., Laurell G. Bacterial contamination in a modern operating suite, 2. Effect of a zoning system on contamination of floors and other surfaces. J Hyg (Lond) 1978 Feb;80(1):57–67. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400053390. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hambraeus A., Bengtsson S., Laurell G. Bacterial contamination in a modern operating suite. 3. Importance of floor contamination as a source of airborne bacteria. J Hyg (Lond) 1978 Apr;80(2):169–174. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400053511. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Petersen N. J., Marshall J. H., Collins D. E. Why wash walls in hospital isolation rooms? Health Lab Sci. 1973 Jan;10(1):23–27. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- VESLEY D., MICHAELSEN G. S. APPLICATION OF A SURFACE SAMPLING TECHNIC TO THE EVALUATION OF BACTERIOLOGICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF CERTAIN HOSPITAL HOUSEKEEPING PROCEDURES. Health Lab Sci. 1964 Apr;1:107–113. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WYPKEMA W., ALDER V. G. Hospital cross-infection and dirty walls. Lancet. 1962 Nov 24;2(7265):1066–1068. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(62)90780-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Weber D. O., Gooch J. J., Wood W. R., Britt E. M., Kraft R. O. Influence of operating room surface contamination on surgical wounds: a prospective study. Arch Surg. 1976 Apr;111(4):484–488. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.1976.01360220180031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]