Abstract

Hospital-acquired infections due to medical devices in the ICUs pose major threat to patient safety. Here we report an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, detected in an ICU, in which the source of the infection was two ambu-bags. All of the patients in the ICU of neurology department with six bed capacity were diagnosed as infected or colonized by P. aeruginosa between January 22 and March 22, 2007. During this period P. aeruginosa was isolated from 21 specimens of six patients. Environmental samples were collected to clarify the source of this outbreak. P. aeruginosa was isolated from both of two ambu-bags used in this unit. These strains showed the same antibiotic susceptibility pattern with the strain isolated from the index patient. Ambu-bags were considered as the source of this outbreak, and incorrect care of the ambu-bags in use was the reason of this outbreak.

Key Words: Hospital-Acquired Infections; Ambu-Bag; Intensive Care Unit, Pseudomonas aeruginosa