See:
Menyhay, S and Maki D. Disinfection of needleless catheter connectors and access
ports with alcohol may not prevent microbial entry: the promise of a novel
antiseptic barrier cap. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2006;
27:23-27.
Article demonstrates what happens when connectors are not disinfected.
The authors then compare no disinfection to use of an alcohol prep pad using
a "conventional method" defined as vigorous swabbing for 3-5 seconds.
See the article for complete review of their methodology. As the authors point
out, the issue of surface disinfection with these devices has not received much
attention in previous studies - so this is interesting
information.
The
one drawback here is that the next step compares this data to the use of a new
device. This new product attaches to and does not replace the needleless
connector (and the cost implications of this are not addressed in this
paper) The outcomes that may (or may not) be achieved by using a
longer swabbing time, different disinfectant or different swabbing
procedure are not included in this study. Because of this, we still cannot
say conclusively that adequate disinfection is procedure dependent, product
dependent - or both.
However, more research on the issue of surface disinfection is planned
for this year. Until we have more evidence, I have heard from institutions that
are now using as much as a 15-20 second swabbing procedure with alcohol - and
apparently getting good results although, as with many aspects of our practice,
the results have not been published.
M
Hanchett RN
IgG
America
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Michael Drafz
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2006 11:35 PM
To: venous
Subject: disinfecting with alcoholWe have a little controversy about how long you should scrub a injection cap/port/hub with alcohol. Anyone has some literature about this?Thanks.Michael DrafzSharp Memorial Hospital San Diego
Michael Drafz RN, OCN, CRNIClinical Lead Vascular Access ServiceSharp Memorial Hospital Metropolitan CampusSan Diego, California
