can transfer microbes
from the floor into the
bed by simply walking on
the floors."
Surprisingly, hospital
floors are rarely found on
the list of "high-touch"
surfaces, notes Dr.
Greene, yet floors are one
of the most repeatedly
contaminated surfaces in
the room.
"As we walk from out-
side to inside, we bring
any bacteria from the out-
side with us. Since floors
are almost never disinfec-
ted, contamination can be
moved easily via the bottom of our shoes," she says. "Even the seams
and cracks in a floor can harbor communities of pathogens in the
form of biofilms."
Other areas and items that may be classified as low-touch can still
become a source of cross-contamination. Microbes do not discern
between low- and high-touch surfaces. As Dr. Greene explains, "Left
undisturbed, many microbes can go dormant and survive just fine in dust.
Once the environment becomes habitable again with the addition of
nutrients, those microbes can become viable again."
Dr. Greene cites a 2015 study by Albert Barberán et al., that char-
acterized the microbial communities of household dust and found
that there were thousands of species present. The study
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 1
• PHANTOM THREAT To eradicate bacterial contamination of overlooked OR floors,
you should use a disinfectant as part of your facility's floor-cleaning protocol.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
