Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Hindenburgdamm 27, 12203, Berlin, Germany.
Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2024 Nov 17;13(1):137. doi: 10.1186/s13756-024-01493-3.
Sinks have been introduced near patients to improve hand hygiene as part of infection prevention and control measures. However, sinks are a known reservoir for gram-negative bacterial pathogens in particular and their removal to prevent bacterial infections in intensive care patients is currently recommended by several international guidelines.
Healthcare workers (HCWs) in 15 intensive care units (ICUs) in Germany were given the opportunity to complete an anonymous survey on the use of sinks between August 2022 and January 2023. Observations were then made in three participating ICUs to determine the frequency and reason for contact with the sink.
258 questionnaires were returned (nurses 87%). 90% found it useful to very useful to have a sink in the patient room, and 56% reported using it daily for hand hygiene. We observed 33 contacts between nurses and sinks over 17 h. In 20/33 (60%) cases, the sink was used for waste disposal. In 3/33 (10%) it was used for hand washing.
Sinks are still used for daily care in intensive care units. Educational Interventions in existing buildings to minimise risk through "sink hygiene" (i.e. separation of sinks for water disposal and uptake) can make an important contribution to infection prevention.
为改善手卫生，作为感染预防和控制措施的一部分，在患者附近设置了水槽。然而，水槽是革兰氏阴性细菌病原体的已知储存库，目前有几项国际指南建议去除水槽以防止重症监护患者的细菌感染。
2022 年 8 月至 2023 年 1 月，德国 15 个重症监护病房（ICU）的医护人员有机会完成关于水槽使用情况的匿名调查。然后在三个参与的 ICU 进行观察，以确定与水槽接触的频率和原因。
共收回 258 份问卷（护士 87%）。90%的人认为在病房内设置水槽非常有用，56%的人报告每天使用水槽进行手部卫生。我们在 17 小时内观察到护士与水槽之间的 33 次接触。在 20/33（60%）的情况下，水槽用于废物处理。在 3/33（10%）的情况下，它用于洗手。
水槽仍在重症监护病房中用于日常护理。在现有建筑物中进行教育干预，通过“水槽卫生”（即分离用于废水处理和摄取的水槽），可以为感染预防做出重要贡献。
