Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2012 Nov;33(11):1081-5. doi: 10.1086/668022. Epub 2012 Sep 21.
Privacy curtains that separate patient care areas in hospitals may play an important role in the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens. The aim of this randomized, controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness in a clinical setting of curtains incorporating a complex element compound (CEC) with antimicrobial properties.
Twenty-one rooms in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) and 9 rooms in a medical ICU were randomly selected to receive either a new standard curtain or a new identical-looking CEC curtain. Fifteen rooms received CEC curtains and 15 received standard curtains.
Cultures were performed of samples that were collected from curtains twice a week for 4 weeks (23 days). Contamination was determined according to standard microbiologic methods. Time to contamination was assessed with the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and survival analysis. Incidence rates of contamination were compared using Poisson regression.
The median time to first contamination was 7 times longer for CEC curtains than for standard curtains (14 vs 2 days; [Formula: see text]). CEC curtains were significantly less contaminated than standard curtains according to earlier culture results but not significantly different for later culture results. Fourteen CEC curtains and 13 standard curtains were contaminated at least once ([Formula: see text]). The adjusted rate of contamination was 29% lower among CEC versus standard curtains, but this was not statistically significant (rate ratio, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.48-1.07).
CEC privacy curtains increase the time to first contamination as compared with standard curtains. Use of privacy curtains with antimicrobial properties could increase the time between washings and may potentially play a role in decreasing pathogen transmission.
医院中用于分隔病人护理区的隐私窗帘在医院获得性病原体传播中可能发挥着重要作用。本随机对照试验旨在评估一种具有抗菌特性的复杂元素化合物（CEC）的窗帘在临床环境中的有效性。
从外科重症监护病房（ICU）的 21 个房间和内科 ICU 的 9 个房间中随机选择，以接收新的标准窗帘或新的相同外观的 CEC 窗帘。15 个房间接收 CEC 窗帘，15 个房间接收标准窗帘。
每周对窗帘进行两次培养，共 4 周（23 天），收集样本。根据标准微生物学方法确定污染情况。使用 Wilcoxon 秩和检验和生存分析评估污染时间。使用泊松回归比较污染发生率。
CEC 窗帘首次污染的中位时间比标准窗帘长 7 倍（14 天比 2 天；[公式：见正文]）。CEC 窗帘的污染程度明显低于标准窗帘，但后期培养结果差异无统计学意义。14 个 CEC 窗帘和 13 个标准窗帘至少被污染过一次（[公式：见正文]）。与标准窗帘相比，CEC 窗帘的污染率调整后降低了 29%，但差异无统计学意义（调整后比值，0.71；95%可信区间，0.48-1.07）。
CEC 隐私窗帘与标准窗帘相比，首次污染的时间更长。使用具有抗菌特性的隐私窗帘可以增加洗涤之间的时间间隔，可能在减少病原体传播方面发挥作用。
