Abstract
A multicenter surveillance study was performed to determine the rates of hand carriage of potential pathogens among healthcare personnel in four neonatal intensive care units. Staphylococcus aureus, enterococci, and gram-negative bacilli were recovered from 8%, 3%, and 2% of 1000 hand culture samples, respectively.
Keywords:
gram-negative bacilli; hand hygiene; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); nurses; physicians.
Publication types
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Multicenter Study
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
MeSH terms
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Enterococcus / isolation & purification*
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Enterococcus / pathogenicity
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Gram-Negative Bacteria / isolation & purification*
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Gram-Negative Bacteria / pathogenicity
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Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / epidemiology
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Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / microbiology
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Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / prevention & control*
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Hand / microbiology
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Hand Hygiene
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Humans
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Infant, Newborn
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Intensive Care Units, Neonatal*
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Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*
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Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / pathogenicity
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Personnel, Hospital* / education
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Prospective Studies
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Sentinel Surveillance
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Staphylococcal Infections / epidemiology
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Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
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Staphylococcal Infections / prevention & control*
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United States