M6.6 Antimicrobials in Hospital Furnishings: Do They Help Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)?

Antimicrobials in Hospital Furnishings: Do They Help Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)?

         Evidence shows that rigorous hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection according to guidelines are methods proven to control HAIs. Because it is challenging to enforce adherence to strict guidelines for all facilities, there is a national effort to add antimicrobials not only to medical devices that may come in contact with blood or mucous membranes, but also to furnishings and building products. According to the findings summarized in the article, test results for disinfectants do not have standardized success criteria and interpretation is up to whomever is interested. This policy only seems to benefit industries rather than public health.

       There is a global crisis of antimicrobial resistance. I see it everyday in my work as an ICU nurse. My patients suffer from MRSA, VRE, CRE, drug resistant TB...etc. From my practice, I have learned that the most effective way to reduce HAIs is prevention, hand hygiene, consistent cleaning and disinfection and shortening the length of the hospital/ICU stay, especially for immunocompromized patients. There is a national movement to enforce the nursing bundles to prevent and reduce the rates of HAIs. This bundle advocates for minimal use of invasive procedures, interventions and equipment, such as Foley catheters and promoting earlier extubations...anything foreign going into the body that isn't necessary.

        The issue of antimicrobial resistance needs to be approached holistically. Gone are the days when penicillin is the key to get rid of infections. It is exactly that attitude that has fueled antimicrobial resistance globally. Consumers demand antimicrobials for everything...even for virus causing infections and providers feel pressured to relent due to loss of business, especially in the United States where healthcare isn't socialized. The overuse of antibiotics in our food source and in our communities has spawned antimicrobial resistance and multi-drug resistant organisms. Isn't that evidence enough to show that using antimicrobials in hospital furnishings is just another method of the same design. The government and research agencies need to invest more in innovations in natural, organic or mechanical methods of disinfection and antimicrobial therapy. Dousing hospital furnishings is not the answer to fighting MDROs or HAIs. It's like doing something the same way several times and expecting different results.