Worldwide studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association surveyed the infection status of over 13,000 patients from 1,200 Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in 75 countries. The study found that more than half of all patients had an infection and those that were infected were more than twice as likely to die as uninfected patients. More than 80% of these infections can be transferred by touch. In addition, it was found that the risk for acquiring an infection increases the longer a patient stays in the ICU. Of those patients that were in the ICU for a day or less, only 32% had infections, while of those patients that stayed in the ICU for more than a week 70% had infections.
Healthcare professionals continue to employ strict infection control measures, such as frequent hand-washing and surface disinfection, but a new strategy is needed as hospital-acquired infections are on the rise. Frequently touched surfaces in ICUs are heavily contaminated with anywhere from several hundred to over ten thousand colony forming units of infectious bacteria. Patients, families, doctors, nurses etc. touch these surfaces every day and it is exactly where an additional line of defense needs to be instated.
King MicroShield® surfaces kill the harmful bacteria that cause infections where they lie. Also, King MicroShield® surfaces are one of the most effective antimicrobial touch surfaces that do not leach out into the environment. This is ideal for the healthcare environment where an inherent, continuous ability to kill bacteria is needed to supplement infection control measures.
References
Vincent, J.-L., J. Rello, J. Marshall, E. Silva, A. Anzueto, C. D. Martin, R. Moreno, J. Lipman, C. Gomersall, Y. Sakr, and K. Reinhart. “International Study of the Prevalence and Outcomes of Infection in Intensive Care Units.” JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 302.21 (2009): 2323-329. Print.
