[Water used for hemodialysis equipment: where is Pseudomonas aeruginosa?]

The water used in dilution of the dialysis solutions constitutes an essential element of the efficiency and the safety of this therapeutics. Water must be specifically treated, and some technical rules must be respected, such as disinfection of the equipment for water treatment, to guarantee a satisfying level for whole the installation. This article reports the investigations, which were led to find the spring of Pseudomonas aeruginosa which contamined in a recurring way the water feeding dialysis equipment. The observation of samples'chronology and an analysis of the sanitary pad suggested a contamination during disinfection. Sample of residual water from the pump used for the injection of Dialox identified this reservoir as origin of the contamination. To stop this contamination by P. aeruginosa, a pump maintenance revision and purges of the system were used.