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Hand hygiene surveillance reduces positive blood cultures in dialysis clinics
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A study based on observational data indicates that surveillance of hand hygiene may result in a lower rate blood cultures with antibiotic resistant bacteria. The study, conducted by doctors and nurses at the Renal Research Institute in New York, N.Y., was presented as a poster at the American Nephrology Nurses' Association 46th annual symposium. The researchers noted that they cannot derive a cause-effect relationship from observational data.
Study authors include P. Sheppard, S. Johnson, RN, S. Thompson, T. Sullivan, RN, NW Levin, MD, P. Balter, MD, P. Kotanko, MD, R. Levin.
The researchers recorded eight items related to hand hygiene during monthly Environment of Care (EOC) rounds between 2010 and 2013 in 12 hemodialysis facilities. Hand hygiene scores were normalized to the number of staff in the respective hemodialysis clinic and expressed as number of monthly citations per staff member.
Researchers also recorded the number of blood cultures positive for bacteria listed below:
- C. difficile Neisseria Species
- Campylobacter Species Candida Species
- Enterococcus Species P. aeruginosa
- Salmonella Species MRSA
- S. pneumoniae VRSA
- S. pyogenes
Results
The number of positive blood cultures (expressed as a grand mean) decreased over time.
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