Sink Drains in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Risk Assessment and Evaluation

Julia S. Schneider, Neele J. Froböse, Thorsten Kuczius, Vera Schwierzeck and Stefanie Kampmeier ()
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Julia S. Schneider: Institute of Hygiene, University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
Neele J. Froböse: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
Thorsten Kuczius: Institute of Hygiene, University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
Vera Schwierzeck: Institute of Hygiene, University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
Stefanie Kampmeier: Institute of Hygiene, University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 17, 1-9

Abstract: Water systems in health care facilities can form reservoirs for Gram-negative bacteria. While planning a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), we performed a retrospective evaluation of potential risks from water-diverting systems on the existing NICU of our tertiary care University Hospital. During 2017 to 2023, we recorded nine nosocomial cluster events with bacterial pathogens in our NICU. Of these, three clusters of Gram-negative bacteria were potentially related to sink drains: A Klebsiella oxytoca , a Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and an Enterobacter hormaechei cluster were uncovered by clinical routine screening of patients and breastmilk samples. They were confirmed using whole-genome sequencing and a subsequent core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) algorithm. Our observations highlight that the implementation of sink drains in a NICU may have negative effects on patients’ safety. Construction planning should concentrate on the avoidance of washbasins in patient rooms when redesigning sensitive areas such as NICUs.

Keywords: intensive care; neonatal; wastewater; Pseudomonas; Klebsiella; Enterobacter; transmission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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