Pseudomonas aeruginosa in hospital sinks

Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from sink waste-traps in 27 of 116 (23.3%) samples from a large general hospital and from 19 of 47 (40.4%) samples from a burns unit at another hospital. Smaller proportions of samples from sink outlets and surfaces of basins yielded Ps. aeruginosa. A waste-trap heater ('Econa') used twice daily for fifteen minutes reduced the isolations of Ps. oeruginosa from waste-traps to a very low level; isolations of other organisms were also reduced, though to a smaller extent. Despite the continuing high frequency of Ps. aeruginosa in sinks and some other moist hospital sites, Ps. aeruginosa infections were infrequent in the general hospital and had been greatly reduced by the successful use of various prophylactic measures in the burns unit.