yuck! make them wash their hands!

[Guest guest]

Folks,

I don't know if any of us mommies have phony nails, but apparently they can

harbor pseudomonas A.

Janet

Workers' Hands A Potential Source of P.

Aeruginosa Infection in ICUs

WESTPORT, Sep 08 (Reuters Health) - Hands of healthcare workers should be

cultured as potential reservoirs of infection during endemic Pseudomonas

aeruginosa infections in intensive care units, suggest researchers from New

York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, in New

York.

Dr. Marc Foca and colleagues describe their investigation of endemic P.

aeruginosa infection in a neonatal intensive care unit in the September 7th

issue of

the New England Journal of Medicine. In August 1998, P. aeruginosa was

identified in six infants. From January 1997 to December 1998, 49 incident cases

were identified. The eyes and the respiratory tract were the most common sites

of

colonization.

Cultures of environmental specimens were negative for P. aeruginosa, but hands

of

10 healthcare workers, from a total of 166 workers, were culture-positive.

Workers with positive hand cultures were significantly older than the those

without

colonization. A history of using artificial nails or nail wraps was also a risk

factor for

harboring P. aeruginosa.

Three workers were positive for P. aeruginosa upon repeat culturing. In one

healthcare worker who wore nail extenders, subsequent cultures were negative

once the extenders were removed.

The second positive healthcare worker had candida onychomycosis, while the third

had otitis externa and persistently positive cultures of the hands, ear canal

and

anterior nares. Hand cultures of both individuals were negative for the

bacterium

after the workers were successfully treated for the underlying conditions.

N Engl J Med 2000;343:695-700.