Focus: Plumbing

Sinks next to toilets in patient rooms could spread germs

Sinks located next to patient toilets in hospital rooms may be reservoirs for Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase


Sinks located next to patient toilets in hospital rooms may be reservoirs for Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC), according to an article on the Infection Control Today website.

New research published in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, says this increases the risk of infection.

Of the samples tested, 87.0 percent of patient sinks next to toilets tested positive for KPC.

In sink drains located closer to the entry door of the room 21.7 percent of sink drains tested positive.

Read the article.



February 13, 2019


Topic Area: Infection Control


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