The researchers tracked the contamination rate of 10 freshly laundered privacy curtains at a hospital in Winnipeg, Canada.
The curtains had minimal contamination when they were first hung, but curtains hung in patient rooms became increasingly contaminated over time. By day 14 of the study period, 87.5 percent of the curtains tested positive for MRSA. Curtains that were not placed in patient rooms, however, stayed clean the entire 21 days of the study.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I once had a patient point to the curtain and say, "there's poopy on there". I didn't see anything, or question how she knew that for sure, but I wouldn't really wouldn't like to see what lit up if it was viewed with an alternative light source, either!
Ours get changed when a room gets deep cleaned after a patient is discharged and prior to the next admission. So...doesn't everybody do that?
Assuming you are seriously asking-
No.
I am not sure what happens on the floor because I work ER. I am not sure what the curtain cleaning schedule is, or even if there is one, though I think that occasionally house keeping does a perfunctory wipe of a small portion of one side that they can reach if they aren't in a hurry.
There are curtains that have dozens of patients between cleaning. And their families. And, because they are ER, lots and lots of people in and out, brushing whatever is on them on the curtain.
And, since so many of our patients are regularly, often pointlessly, pumped full of ABX, I am quite sure our curtains are the perfect storm of breeding conditions for super bugs that could make MRSA duck and run for cover.
c diff spores as well. they did a study in UK. they cut off the spread of c dif, thru deeper, regular cleaning. even of surfaces that one would think c dif would never get to.
Alex_RN, BSN
335 Posts
Ours get changed when a room gets deep cleaned after a patient is discharged and prior to the next admission. So...doesn't everybody do that?