Electronic ISSN 2287-0237

VOLUME

A NOVEL “INOCAP” METHOD FOR HOMOGENEOUS CATHETER HUBS BACTERIAL INOCULATION USING A COMBINATION OF MALE LUER CAPS AND O-RINGS

SEPTEMBER 2018 - VOL.14 | ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) pose significant health risks and financial consequences for healthcare systems worldwide. In order to develop novel antiseptic technologies as alternative prophylactics for CRBSIs, a consistent and reproducible bacterial inoculation method is required for testing the technologies’ antiseptic effects. This study developed and investigated a new “Inocap” model for standardized bacteria inoculation on to surfaces of catheter hubs that is exposed and highly susceptible to contamination in healthcare settings. The results showed a significantly smaller variance in the number of bacteria inoculated onto the catheter hubs by the new Inocap method than the traditional dip method (p ≈ 0.02) while producing no significant difference in the mean value (p > 0.25), indicating that this new Inocap method could work as a more precise inoculation model for future disinfection studies.

Keywords:

Bacteria inoculation model, disinfection, catheter related bloodstream infections, intraluminal infection, catheter hubs, contamination

Address Correspondence to author:

2301/2 New Petchburi Rd. Bangkapi, Huaikwang, Bangkok Thailand 10310 email: [email protected]

Received: June 30, 201

Revision received: July 3, 2018

Accepted after revision: July 10, 2018

BKK Med J 2018;14(2): 28-33.

DOI: 10.31524/bkkmedj.2018.09.006

MEDIA
Figure 1: Inocap preparation process (a) picture of an Inocap and their placements on an autoclavable tray wrapped by aluminium foil; (b) caps sterilization; (c) addition of bacterial stock; (d) refrigeration in a sterile box; and (e) inoculum removal.
Figure 2: Inoculation with (a) the Inocap method; and (b) the traditional dip method.
Figure 3: Log reduction showing the amount of inoculated CFU harvested from luers relative to the initial starting bacteria stock concentration. (a) Inocap and Dip methods show no significant difference in the average amount inoculated, but the dip method
Table 1: A summary of the standard error, average log reduction measurements, and F-test and t-test p-values for the different groups of luers organized by inoculation method and inoculum diluent
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