A pilot study for evaluation of knowledge and common practises of nursing staff regarding use of multidose injection vials and their microbial contamination rate in a super-specialty hospital

CONTEXT: Multidose injection vials (MDVs) are prone to bacterial contamination, and their use has been reported to be a potential source of infections. AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and common practises of nursing staff regarding the use of MDVs and its microbial contamination rate. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A pilot study was conducted in a super-specialty hospital from June to December 2016. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Information about knowledge and common practises of 100 nursing staff posted in various Intensive Care Units (ICUs) with respect to the usage of single and MDVs, respectively, was obtained and assessed. About 40 in-use multidose injection vials containing some remnants were collected from different ICUs. The volume of 1 ml content of each of these vials was inoculated into a tube containing 15 ml thioglycolate broth and incubated at 37°C for 10 days. The broth was visually examined every day and subcultured onto blood, chocolate, and Sabouraud Dextrose agar plates on alternate days within 10 days or any time that the appearance seemed turbid. The microbial isolates thus obtained were identified using standard guidelines and recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS: The study group members had sufficient knowledge about various aspects of handling single and MDVs, respectively, such as hand hygiene, disinfection, checking of vial labels, and expiry date. Low hand hygiene compliance rate of 55% was observed in all ICUs visited during this study. The contamination rate of MDVs injection vials was 25% with Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. being the most common isolate. CONCLUSIONS: The use of MDVs is associated with the risk of contamination and nosocomial outbreaks of life-threatening bloodstream infections. Healthcare professionals must strictly adhere to basic infection control practises as per standard guidelines to minimize the incidence of hospital-acquired infections.