PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

M McGuckin

Publications and source records attributed to M McGuckin.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Occlusive dressings: a microbiologic and clinical review.

This review discusses the microbiology of normal skin and wounds and examines the rates of infection reported under both conventional (nonocclusive) dressings and all occlusive dressings, together with cost factors. The overall infection rate under conventional dressings was 7.1% in 1085 wounds, whereas under occlusive dressings on 3047 wounds the rate was 2.6%. In studies in which the two dressing types were directly compared, the respective rates were 7.6% and 3.2%. The reasons for this difference may include both dressing-specific and host-specific factors, and these factors are discussed.

Biological Dressings

Increasing handwashing compliance with more accessible sinks.

The frequency of handwashing in two intensive care units (ICUs) was observed. Handwashing after direct contact with patients or their support equipment was recorded. The ratio of beds to sinks was 1:1 in the medical ICU and 4:1 in the surgical ICU. Surveillance of physicians, nurses, and other personnel demonstrated a greater frequency of handwashing by nurses (63%) compared with physicians (19%) and other personnel (25%). The nurses in the unit with one sink per bed had a significantly greater number of handwashes (76%) than those in the unit with fewer sinks (51%).

Cooperative Behavior

Airborne contamination of fine-particle nebulizers.

To determine whether bacteria present in ambient air play a role in the contamination of fine-particle reservoir nebulizers, nebulizers were placed in operation in separate hospital locations having qualitatively and quantitatively different bacterial flora in background air. Nebulizers placed in a surgical intensive care unit that had higher numbers of bacteria and a predominance of Gram-negative organisms in background air had a significantly higher incidence of nebulizer contamination (33.0%) than did nebulizers placed in a non-patient-care area that had lower bacterial counts and a predominance of Gram-positive organisms (0%) (P less than .05). The present study indicates that airborne contamination of fine-particle reservoir nebulizers occurs when bacteria present in ambient air enter the nebulizer during its operation.

Aerosols