Peripheral Parenteral Nutrition Solutions and Bed Bath Towels as Risk Factors for Nosocomial Peripheral Venous Catheter-related Bloodstream Infection by .

In Japan, China, and Singapore, several studies have reported increased incidences of peripheral venous catheter-related bloodstream infection by during the summer. Therefore, we hypothesized that bed bathing with a -contaminated "clean" towels increases contact with the catheter and increases the odds of contaminating the peripheral parenteral nutrition (PPN). We found that 1) professionally laundered "clean" towels used in hospitals have (3.3×10 colony forming units (CFUs) / 25cm), 2) is transferable onto the forearms of volunteers by wiping with the towels (n=9), and 3) remain detectable (80∼660 CFUs /50cm) on the forearms of volunteers even with subsequent efforts of disinfection using alcohol wipes. We further confirmed that grow robustly (10 CFUs /mL to more than 10 CFUs /mL) within 24hours at 30°C in PPN. Altogether we find that bed bathing with a towel contaminated with leads to spore attachments to the skin, and that can proliferate at an accelerated rate at 30°C compared to 20°C in PPN. We therefore highly recommend ensuring the use of sterile bed bath towels prior to PPN administration with catheter in patients requiring bed bathing.