Identity tags: A vector for cross-infection?

S, Cox; Burahee, Abdus; Lucier, A.; Fernando, Chamara

doi:10.7196/samj.2016.v106i5.9949

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In line with the current work, Cox et al (7) showed that decontamination practices by 52% of staff were more prevalent than in previous reports (16% and 27%) (20,21) . The tags that had never been cleaned were more likely to carry pathogenic growth.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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Lanyard Cards and Mobile Phones: Vectors for Transmission of Infection at New Najran General Hospital, Saudi Arabia? A cross-Sectional Observation Study with Epidemiological Analysis

Kinawy,

Assalahi,

Mohamed

et al. 2024

SJMS

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Background: Nosocomial infections represent one of the challenging problems of the modern medicine. Healthcare providers play an important role in the transmission of these infections. We aimed to determine the extent of colonization of identity (ID) tags worn around the necks of healthcare workers, and mobile phones and to describe the organisms isolated from them. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 69 hospital staff volunteers. Data were collected on job location, description base and the age of the lanyard and the time. The sample were collected from Staff who were wearing fabric or metal-bead ID card lanyards in a range of intensive care unit (ICU), wards and non-clinical areas. Results: On basis of the working place, nurses showed higher tag-cleaning frequency, followed by doctors (37.5%, 20.7%, respectively), while technicians never cleaned their tags. Doctors showed higher frequency of hand hygiene/day followed by nurses (6.07 ± 2.4, 5.81 ± 2.3 respectively). Tag swab results revealed higher growth of Coagulase-negative staphylococci among doctors (51.7%) and Alpha-hemolytic streptococci were detected only among nurses (6.3%). Mobile swab results revealed higher growth of Coagulase-negative staphylococci among doctors and technicians (58.6%, 50% respectively). Conclusions: ID tags and mobiles are potential sources of pathogen spread so many efforts should be taken to make staff awareness toward the potential danger in every institution.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…At Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital (RCWMCH), Cape Town, South Africa, as at many other institutions worldwide, these access and ID tags are worn around the neck on a lanyard (7) . Mobile phones have become one of the most indispensable accessories of both social and professional life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lanyard Cards and Mobile Phones: Vectors for Transmission of Infection at New Najran General Hospital, Saudi Arabia? A cross-Sectional Observation Study with Epidemiological Analysis

Kinawy,

Assalahi,

Mohamed

et al. 2024

SJMS

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“…Displaying ID badges are essential for healthcare as they serve as a secondary form of identification used to access controlled areas. Several studies have shown that cleaning or disinfecting ID badges is associated with the incidence of pathogen colonization [22,23]. The relevance of neckties and ID badges as a part of formal physician attire warrants further investigation as they have the potential to serve as a vector for nosocomial pathogen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among Medical Students in Tertiary Institution in Central Malaysia

et al. 2020

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA infection is virulent and presents with a broad spectrum of severity. Limited regional reports that specifically outlined the potential risk of medical students being part of the dissemination of MRSA in healthcare settings were noted. This study aims to assess the prevalence and contributory factors of colonization of MRSA on neckties, headscarves, and ID badges among medical students in a local medical university in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 256 medical students. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the data, and sample swabs were collected between July and August 2013 by swabbing neckties, headscarves, or identification badges. The swabs were then streaked onto mannitol salt agar (MSA) and incubated at 37 °C overnight. Out of 433 samples taken, 40 swabs (9.24%) were positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Out of the 40 swabs, five (12.5%) isolates were MRSA (one culture was isolated from the headscarf of a preclinical student, one culture was isolated from the necktie of clinical students, while the remaining three were isolated from identification badges of clinical students. There was no significant association between age, gender, ethnicity, and phase of medical students with the colonization of MRSA (p > 0.05). There was a significant association between knowledge score on hand hygiene practice and phase of medical students. MRSA colonies were present on neckties, headscarves, and identification badges of medical students of all phases. The findings from this study suggest the need for improvement of hand hygiene knowledge and discontinuity of mandatory use of physical ID badges and neckties among medical students.

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“…HAIs, particularly the ones involving resistant microorganisms, lead to difficult complications in contemporary medicine [45]. Antibiotic resistant strains represent serious healthcare complications [46,47].…”

Section: Nosocomial Pathogens Resistant To Methicillinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiology imaging equipment and accessories as possible fomites of nosocomial pathogens

Adomako

Venter²,

Donkor

et al. 2022

J Infect Dev Ctries

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Introduction: Radiology is a technical service that provides medical imaging for all sectors of healthcare. Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) is a major challenge in radiology and this is exacerbated in contexts where the healthcare system is unable to provide adequate funding and attention to effective infection control measures. The objectives of this study were to audit current cleaning procedures through the observation of practices in a radiology department, and to determine the types and numbers of nosocomial pathogens present on selected radiology imaging equipment and accessories before and after decontamination. Methodology: In phase one we observed seven radiographers to audit cleaning procedures and practices. In phase two we collected swab samples from selected radiology imaging equipment and accessories and then cultured them for identification of microbes. Results: It was observed that radiographers partially practiced infection control measures. This was due to the absence of documented protocol for infection control procedures. Our results indicated that all the selected equipment and accessories were contaminated with microorganisms pre- and post-cleaning. The identified microbes were Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase negative Staphylococci (CoNS), Bacillus species (spp.), Shigella spp., Shigella sonnei., Klebsiella spp., Salmonella paratyphi A (S. paratyphi A), Salmonella typhi (S. typhi), Providencia rettgeri, Enterobacter spp. and Citrobacter spp. and Methicillin resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Conclusions: The research concluded that the recommended cleaning agents did not effectively reduce the number of microorganisms making the selected equipment and accessories fomites for nosocomial pathogens.

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Identity tags: A vector for cross-infection?

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

Lanyard Cards and Mobile Phones: Vectors for Transmission of Infection at New Najran General Hospital, Saudi Arabia? A cross-Sectional Observation Study with Epidemiological Analysis

Lanyard Cards and Mobile Phones: Vectors for Transmission of Infection at New Najran General Hospital, Saudi Arabia? A cross-Sectional Observation Study with Epidemiological Analysis

Colonization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among Medical Students in Tertiary Institution in Central Malaysia

Radiology imaging equipment and accessories as possible fomites of nosocomial pathogens

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