MONDAY, Dec. 22, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Intensive care units may seem like clean, clinical places, but Swedish researchers say you're likely to be exposed to harmful bacteria when you stay in one.
Scientists with the Karolinska Institute found 14 of 20 intensive care patients studied at the Huddinge University Hospital in Stockholm were colonized with staphylococcus bacteria from other patients in the unit. Another three were exposed to the bacteria when they were put on ventilation.
Staphylococcus bacteria are the primary cause of circulatory infections picked up in hospitals, and the third most common cause of all hospital infections.
Most worrying to researchers was the discovery that one patient passed on staphylococcus to another patient, even thought the first patient was discharged about three weeks before the other's arrival.
"These species have the ability to survive in the ICU surroundings on medical devices and equipment for weeks up to months," the researchers say in a prepared statement. "They are specifically prone to causing catheter-related infections."
The researchers are concerned that bacteria with resistance to multiple antibiotics will become more common in intensive care units unless hospitals improve their hygiene standards.
More information
Here's where you can learn more about bacteria transmission in intensive care units.
