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A1787
October 16, 2007 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Room Hall D, Area O, |
| Cautions to Bacterial Transmission on the Keyboard during Anesthesia Record Keeping |
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Tomoko Fukada, M.D., Hiroko Iwakiri, M.D., Makoto Ozaki, M.D. Department of Anesthesiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan |
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Recently, the usage of computers in operating room has greatly increased, and we often observe anesthesiologists input their procedure, such as intubation, extubation, inserting peripheral vascular catheters or administrating drugs to the computer with dirty gloves on. Computer keyboards may contribute to cross-transmission of the bacteria because some harmful bacteria can survive for more than 24 hours on a computer keyboard. Accordingly, we hypothesized that anesthesiologists' dirty hands and contaminated computer keyboards were caused health-care associated infection, and investigated whether methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus epidermidis (MSSE) moved between gloves and keyboards. Methods: Keyboards were sterilized with ethyl alcohol. To confirm that bacteria adhered to keyboards from hands, an investigator tapped keys with gloves that were contaminated by wetted MSSE, or dried MSSE. The tapped keys were swabbed and cultured in brain heart infusion (BHI) at 37 °C for 24 hours. Next, to confirm that bacteria spread from a keyboard to hands, the investigator wore wet or dry sterile gloves and tapped the contaminated keys. The tapping parts of gloves were swabbed and cultured in BHI at 37 °C for 24 hours. If BHI became turbid, we considered it as growing MSSE, and so there was a possibility of spreading bacteria from hands to keyboards or keyboards to hands. If BHI maintained to be clear, then it showed no spreads at all. Results: Wet contaminated gloves transmitted MSSE to keys easier than dry contaminated gloves. Wet gloves were transmitted MSSE from keys easier than dry gloves. MSSE suspended in glucose transmitted between keys and gloves more than MSSE suspended with saline. Discussion and Conclusions: Inputting data by anesthesiologists' dirty gloves, especially wet dirty gloves caused spreading bacteria to keyboards in operating room. On the other hands, anesthesiologists' gloves were contaminated from dirty keyboards. Anesthesiologists should understand that they might transmit microbes between their hands and keyboards. Therefore, anesthesiologists should remove their used gloves and do hand hygiene before and after patient contact and touching the keyboards. Keyboards should be disinfected diary or when visibly solid or if they become contaminated with blood. Anesthesiology 2007; 107: A1787 |