LONDON - Hospital patients are at risk of catching infections such as MRSA and C difficile from "biohazard" pillows which are ridden with 30 different bugs, according to a new study.
Nurses are required to regularly wash their hands and disinfect bed frames and mattresses, but underestimate the risk of infection from dirty pillows, said the report.
But dead skin, dandruff, dirty air and contaminated fluids found on pillows in hospital wards expose patients to the risk of diseases ranging from seasonal flu to chickenpox, hepatitis and even leprosy.
The study by St Bartholomew's Hospital and The London National Health Service (NHS) Trust found 30 different types of infection in a sample of pillows taken from hospital wards, posing a significant risk of infection.
While used linen and bedding is changed and laundered between patients and is routinely cleaned, the study found a "very high and unacceptable percentage" of damaged pillows on three test wards.
Tears to the lining or stitching of pillows mean they cannot be effectively cleaned and patients could be exposed to infection.
Germs are released through tears and the stitching of standard NHS pillows when pressure is applied - for example when a patient lays their head down, it added.
The study was sponsored by SleepAngel, which has developed a hermetically sealed pillow to minimise the risk of spreading infection through stitching.
Tests showed that, after three months of use in hospitals, none of these pillows were contaminated on the inside.
Dr Arthur Tucker, Principal Clinical Scientist and Senior Lecturer at St Barts and the London Hospitals and author of the report, said: "The presence of these bugs means that they can and will be passed to patients."
The Daily Telegraph
Via: http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110623-0000285/Dirty-hospital-pillows-pose-hazard--UK-study
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