Bacterial contamination of environmental surfaces in two educational hospitals under the auspices of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

Mortality risk and therefore the likelihood of in-hospital death for a patient owing to nosocomial infection in health care centers has always existed. The majority of nosocomial infections are transmitted through direct contact, primarily with environmental surfaces or equipments. This study was aimed to determine the microbial contamination of environmental surfaces in two teaching hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. In this cross-sectional study and by kind permission of hospital managers, a total of 120 samples were collected from PICU, ICU, ENT units, Operating room, Burn ward and Recovery section in both studied hospitals. Identification of microbial agents was carried out using standard biochemical and microbiological methods. Data obtained were analyzed using Stata12 software & Chi- Square test. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. The results showed bacterial contamination in 48 cases (40%). ENT unit with 80% and Burn ward with 40% revealed the highest contamination rate in hospital (1) and hospital (2), respectively. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter aerogenes, Acinetobacter, and Enterococcus faecalis were the most common isolated bacteria A high percentage of bacterial contamination was found in both studied hospitals. Implementing prevention guidelines and collection of periodic culture are necessary to reduce the rate of bacterial contamination in these hospitals.