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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infection Control
  • Neonatal Care

Background:

  • Environmental surface sampling is crucial in healthcare but lacks standardized, high-yield methods.
  • Understanding the microbial flora of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is vital for infection prevention.
  • The relationship between environmental contamination, infant colonization/infection, and healthcare worker workload requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the yield of swab and gauze pad methods for environmental surface sampling.
  • To characterize the bacterial flora present on NICU surfaces.
  • To correlate NICU flora with infant infection/colonization rates and healthcare worker workload.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of swab versus gauze pad sampling techniques.
  • Longitudinal environmental surface sampling in a NICU over six months.
  • Bacterial identification using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF).

Main Results:

  • The gauze pad method yielded significantly more bacterial colonies than the swab method.
  • 87 bacterial species were identified, with 18% being potential pathogens.
  • Pathogens found on infant clinical/colonization cultures were also detected in the NICU environment.
  • Higher bacterial counts correlated with lower nurse-to-patient ratios.

Conclusions:

  • The gauze pad method is a robust and accessible technique for environmental sampling.
  • NICU environmental flora is diverse and mirrors infant flora, posing a potential pathogen reservoir.
  • Environmental sampling data may inform infection control strategies and workload assessments.