Safeguarding Neonates From Infection in the NICU

Milford, CT, April 13, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​Hospitals, despite their importance when it comes to treating illness, can also be a breeding ground for pathogens. These infectious agents can be especially dangerous for younger patients and the elderly.

Studies have shown that hospital surfaces and medical equipment are often contaminated by organisms that can survive for prolonged periods on a variety of surfaces. NICU’s are especially at risk given that neonates often “have poor skin integrity” and devices should be “be meticulously cleaned and disinfected with an intermediate-level disinfectant or single use.”

The underlying problem, however, is hospitals often don’t have the time or available staff to be as vigilant as needed with premature patients. And devices that are used in a variety of environments throughout the hospital don’t get the attention needed to ensure their cleanliness.

Given that mobile radiograph systems, as most hospital equipment, carry pathogens, the KUB® 250, the only low dose radiation mobile radiograph system developed specifically for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), limits the contact with microorganisms to the NICU, enabling staff to reduce exposure to external bacteria. The KUB® 250 System also affords the imaging resolution needed for tiny patients and is small enough to fit in confined spaces. 

According to a study by the Neonatology and NICU Section, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology (DIMO) of the University of Bari, Italy “neonatal sepsis still represents an important cause of mortality and morbidityamong infants, above all in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW, birth weight  1500 g) preterm infants, with an incidence ranging from 1–5/1000 live births to 49–170/1000 live births.”

To learn more about cross contamination in the NICU and the KUB® 250 System, visit kubtec.com.  

Source: Kubtec