Compliance with infection control practices among healthcare workers in radiology departments: a participant observation study and adenosine triphosphate assay evaluation of environmental cleanliness

Background

Increased risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in radiology departments has been reported in recent years. Optimal infection control practices (ICPs) are the key to controlling HAIs, but few studies have investigated the ICP compliance of healthcare workers (HCWs) in radiology departments.

Aim

To assess the level of ICP compliance of HCWs in a radiology department.

Methods

A participant observation supplemented with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assay evaluation of environmental cleanliness was conducted. More than 1000 hand hygiene (HH) opportunities and 960 opportunities for the other core ICP elements were observed in different study units of a radiology department. An online checklist powered by eRub was used to record the HCWs' ICP performance. A total of 125 environmental samples were collected for ATP assay evaluation.

Results

In the participants observation, the overall performance score was 41.4%. The lowest score was found in HH (10.4%), followed by use of personal protective equipment (29.4%) and gloves (68.2%). The HH performance was significantly associated with study units (χ² = 42.55, P < 0.001), professional groups (χ² = 110.21, P < 0.001), and patient-to-staff ratio (F = 8.76, P < 0.001). With relative light units of ≤250 set as a pass benchmark, less than two-thirds of the environmental samples passed the ATP assay.

Conclusion

The overall ICP compliance among the HCWs in the radiology department was suboptimal. Revisions of current ICP guidelines and policies that are tailored to the setting-specific needs and barriers in radiology departments is necessary.