WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Rehman Arshad, Qaiser Iqbal*, Muhammad Kamran Taj, Mir Ahmed Khan and Khudaidad Khan

ABSTRACT

Hospitalized patients are given parenteral therapy thus they are at high risk of developing infection due to extrinsic contamination when the infusion containers are vented. The current study was therefore designed to evaluate the extrinsic contamination of infusate, the type of bacteria involved in contamination of infustae and practice of the health care professionals in terms of maintaining central line in the tertiary care hospital of Quetta city Pakistan. Two hundred and ten samples were taken from different wards of a tertiary care hospital in Quetta city, Pakistan. The infusates of Dextrose solutions and Ringer lactate solutions were cultured on the media and was checked for the type of bacteria afterwards. The gynaecological ward had most of the positive sample i.e. 6.19% followed by the trauma centre (5.23%). Klebsiella, Enterococcus, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were the major bacteria which were identified from the sample infusate. The nursing staff used to vent the container by spiking the container with needle so as to deliver the solution to patient, consequently providing an opportunity for contamination. To prevent bacteraemia in a practical way, we recommend improving pharmacy services in the hospitals which will diminish the compounding of intravenous admixtures in nursing units. Meanwhile it is also recommended that infusate should be cultured routinely to estimate contamination especially in those patients where there is no clinically proven source of infection.