Outbreak of Klebsiella aerogenes in a neurosurgical department linked to contaminated shampoo equipment from an outsourced barber department: A threat to infection control in outsourced healthcare services.
Hao-Min Lan, Yi-Fang Lee, Ya-Fen Tang et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
From the abstract
Outsourced hospital services may pose underrecognized risks for healthcare-associated infections, particularly in high-risk areas such as neurosurgery. A cluster of Klebsiella aerogenes infections in a neurosurgical ward prompted an investigation to identify the source and transmission route.
Reported results
The index case, a 56-year-old woman who underwent craniectomy on August 31, 2023, developed K. aerogenes infection one week postoperatively and died 18 days later. Seventeen additional cases were identified-12 from September 2023 to January 2024, and 5 between April and May 2024. All patients had undergone preoperative hair shaving by an outsourced barber department.
Authors' conclusions
This outbreak highlights the importance of incorporating non-clinical outsourced services into infection surveillance and control programs, especially in high-risk clinical settings.