Table 1.
Bacterial Colonization of Needleless Connectors After Experimental Contamination and Scrubbing by Raw CFU Counts
| Organism | Inoculum (CFUs) | Dry time a | H2O (5/5) b | H2O (10/5) b | H2O (15/15) b | IPA Wipe | IPA Cap | CHG/IPA Wipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Staphylococcus epidermidis
(n=10) |
60,000 (38,250–297,500) |
120 (75–120) |
33 (13.75–131) |
11.5 (0–138.75) |
6 (3–8) |
0 (0–1) |
38 (0–216) | 1 (0–19) |
|
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
(n=14) |
97,500 (43,000–122,500) |
120 (120–120) |
7 (0–34) |
4 (2.5–6.25) | 3 (0.5–9.5) |
0 (0–0) |
0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) |
|
Staphylococcus aureus
(n=24) |
160,000 (90,000–550,000) |
120 (120–120) |
72.5 (19.5–294) |
32 (4–81) | 3 (0–43.5) |
0 (0–4.5) |
1.5 (0–9.25) | 0 (0–2) |
| Overall (n=48) |
100,000 (59,250–352,500) |
120 (120–120) |
38 (4–189) |
9 (2–81) | 4 (0.5–12) |
0 (0–1) |
0 (0–8.5) | 0 (0–3) |
Note. CFU, colony-forming units; H2O, sterile water; IPA, 70% isopropyl alcohol; CHG, chlorhexidine. CFU counts are reported as median (interquartile range).
a
Dry time in minutes and reflects dry time after organism inoculation.
b
Scrub time/dry time in seconds.