Antimicrobial hospital curtains cut bacterial contamination, study finds

Megan Knowles -

Antimicrobial hospital curtains may be more effective at reducing bacterial contamination than standard curtains, a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found.

The study looked at 12 rooms of patients with multidrug-resistant organisms and 10 cubicles in the medical, surgical, neurosurgical, orthopedics and rehabilitation units of 10 hospitals.

To determine the efficacy of two types of antimicrobial privacy curtains in clinical settings compared to standard curtains, the researchers collected culture samples from curtain surfaces twice a week for two weeks, followed by weekly intervals.

The second type of antimicrobial curtain (antimicrobial curtain B) was highly effective at reducing the number of bacteria living on the surface compared to the standard curtain.

The percentages of multidrug-resistant organism contamination, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, were also significantly lower on antimicrobial curtain B than the standard curtain.

Antimicrobial curtain A, which had built-in silver, was not effective at reducing the microbial burden, the researchers found.

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