Table 1.
Characteristics of rooms hosting patients with Clostridium difficile infections, Jewish General Hospital, Canada, April 2012- March 2013
| On the day of diagnosis | 24 h after diagnosis | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N = 183 | n = 168a | ||
| Room type (%) | |||
| Private | 25 (13.7 %) | 76 (45.2 %) | <0.001 |
| 2-bedded room | 114 (62.3 %) | 85 (50.6 %) | 0.04 |
| 3-4-bedded room | 44 (24.0 %) | 7 (4.2 %) | <0.001 |
| Location of the closest available sink for HCW handwash (%) | |||
| Nursing station | 92 (50.3 %) | 79 (47.0 %) | 0.61 |
| Hallway | 78 (42.6 %) | 83 (49.4 %) | 0.24 |
| Medication room | 9 (4.9 %) | 4 (2.4 %) | 0.26 |
| Clean utility room | 2 (1.1 %) | 2 (1.2 %) | 1.00 |
| Other | 2 (1.1 %) | 0 (0 %) | 0.49 |
| Median distance between patient room and closest sink (meters) (IQR) | 11.6 (6.7–18.9) | 12.5 (6.7–23.2) | 0.005 |
| Private room | 9.8 (4.0–22) | 16.2 (6.4–25.6) | 0.21 |
| 2 bedded room | 10.5 (6.3–18.9) | 10.4 (7.0–20.1) | 0.60 |
| 3-4 bedded room | 12.8 (8.2–20.7) | 18.9 (13.4–23.2) | 0.22 |
| Path from room to nearest sink (%) | |||
| Direct line from patient room | 60 (32.8 %) | 62 (36.9 %) | 0.49 |
| One 90° turn required to reach sink | 30 (16.4 %) | 22 (13.1 %) | 0.47 |
| Two or more 90° turns required to reach sink | 93 (50.8 %) | 84 (50.0 %) | 0.96 |
a24 h after diagnosis, 15 patients were excluded as they had been discharged (n = 13) or transferred to a non-study unit (n = 2)
Abbreviation: IQR interquartile range