IN-VITRO SURVIVAL OF SKIN FLORA IN HEPARIN LOCKS AND NEEDLELESS VALVEINFUSION DEVICES

Objective: To determine the extent to which two types of infusion devi ces, the heparin lock and a needleless valve device, allowed the persi stence of inoculated microorganisms. Design: Experiment. Setting: Clin ical microbiology laboratory. Outcome Measures: Bacterial counts in in fusion devices. Intervention: Five of each type of device were inocula ted with approximately 10(5) colony-forming units of a strain of Staph ylococcus epidermidis and Enterobacter aerogenes and tested for growth at seven time intervals, from 10 minutes to 72 hours after inoculatio n. Results: Both strains of bacteria were present in each device at ev ery time interval tested, including 72 hours after inoculation. Conclu sions: Bacteria introduced into a heparin lock or valve device may be isolated for prolonged periods of time. This suggests that if such dev ices are contaminated during use, they may be a potential source of in fection. The risk of infection should be one major consideration in ri sk and benefit deliberations when choosing new products.