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A Cluster of Hemodialysis-Related Bacteremia Linked to Artificial Fingernails

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Fred M. Gordin ,
Maureen E. Schultz ,
Ruth Huber ,
Sabiha Zubairi ,
Frida Stock  and
Joseph Kariyil
Fred M. Gordin*
Affiliation:
Washington, DC, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC Department of Medicine, the George Washington University, Washington, DC
Maureen E. Schultz
Affiliation:
Washington, DC, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC
Ruth Huber
Affiliation:
Washington, DC, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC
Sabiha Zubairi
Affiliation:
Washington, DC, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC
Frida Stock
Affiliation:
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC
Joseph Kariyil
Affiliation:
Washington, DC, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC Department of Medicine, the George Washington University, Washington, DC
*
Infectious Diseases (151B), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 50 Irving Street NW, Washington, DC 20422 (fred.gordin@va.gov)
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Abstract

We examined a cluster of 5 hemodialysis patients who contracted gram-negative bacteremia. A nurse who used an artificial fingernail to open a vial of heparin that was mixed to make a flush solution had a culture of an artificial fingernail specimen positive for Serratia marcescens. The typing of the S. marcescens strains isolated from the 5 patients and the nurse showed them to be identical. This finding provides strong support for policies prohibiting artificial nails for healthcare workers in all hemodialysis units.

Type
Concise Communication
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 28 , Issue 6 , June 2007 , pp. 743 - 744
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2007

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