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At least 1,063 records · Page 59Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Effect of laundering on the barrier properties of reusable surgical gown fabrics.

BACKGROUND: Relationships between selected fabric characteristics and the barrier effectiveness of surgical gown fabrics to bacterial transmission were examined. The effect of laundering on these characteristics was determined. METHODS: Five commercially available reusable surgical gowns were evaluated in this study. Four of the gowns were produced from woven fabrics. One gown was produced from a 3-layer composite that contained a microporous membrane between a woven and knit fabric. By using standard test methods, the following characteristics were evaluated: thickness, weight, pore size, and oil and water repellency. Gowns were laundered 25 and 50 times by a commercial laundry service that specialized in cleaning surgical gowns. Gown fabrics were sterilized only before laboratory evaluation and not after each laundering cycle. Resistance of the fabrics to the transmission of microorganism suspensions under a hydrostatic pressure was determined. Staphylococcus aureus was the microorganism used in this study. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of several fabric characteristics were associated with the barrier properties of the surgical gown fabrics studied. Repellency and pore size contributed to gown performance. Laundering reduced the ability of the fabric to prevent the transmission of bacteria through the fabrics. Only 1 fabric showed no transmission of bacteria after laundering. This fabric retained the greatest degree of repellency and had the greatest thickness. Higher repellency ratings generally corresponded with higher barrier properties. Two fabrics showed no significant increase in the amount of bacteria that transmitted through the fabric after laundering. Both of these gowns were reinforced with a second fabric layer.

Bacteria↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Occupational risk for hepatitis A: a literature-based analysis.

Hepatitis A virus is the most frequently occurring vaccine-preventable disease. Although generally self-limiting, acute hepatitis A is associated with substantial morbidity and related economic burden. Hepatitis A virus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route, and children are a main source of infection. Some occupational workers are at risk for hepatitis A virus infection based on the potential for contact with infected fecal matter and, in many regions in the United States and other developed countries, low overall rates of natural immunity. These at-risk occupations include daycare providers, hospital workers who have direct patient contact (nurses, nurses' aides, laundry workers), and sewage workers. Additionally, food handlers, particularly in the hospital setting, should be vaccinated if seronegative for hepatitis A virus because of their ability to rapidly spread disease among vulnerable populations if infected.

Hepatitis A↗
PubMed1997

Uses of inorganic hypochlorite (bleach) in health-care facilities.

Hypochlorite has been used as a disinfectant for more than 100 years. It has many of the properties of an ideal disinfectant, including a broad antimicrobial activity, rapid bactericidal action, reasonable persistence in treated potable water, ease of use, solubility in water, relative stability, relative nontoxicity at use concentrations, no poisonous residuals, no color, no staining, and low cost. The active species is undissociated hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Hypochlorites are lethal to most microbes, although viruses and vegetative bacteria are more susceptible than endospore-forming bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. Activity is reduced by the presence of heavy metal ions, a biofilm, organic material, low temperature, low pH, or UV radiation. Clinical uses in health-care facilities include hyperchlorination of potable water to prevent Legionella colonization, chlorination of water distribution systems used in hemodialysis centers, cleaning of environmental surfaces, disinfection of laundry, local use to decontaminate blood spills, disinfection of equipment, decontamination of medical waste prior to disposal, and dental therapy. Despite the increasing availability of other disinfectants, hypochlorites continue to find wide use in hospitals.

Chlorine↗
PubMed2005

[General services].

The present article describes the activity performed by the medical support services and, more specifically, by operational services (which include mainly cleaning, laundry, and non-patient transport) and catering. We outline the normal activity of these services and then provide details of how they were affected on 11 March and subsequent days. Data relating to the Rehabilitation Centers and Ophthalmology Institute are not included as they were not significantly affected from the point of view discussed herein.

Food Service, Hospital↗
PubMed1991

Different answers from different managers.

How well is your laundry operating? Columnist Carl Shusterman believes you should keep in close touch with your contemporaries and compare your facility to others in your area.

Hospital Administrators↗
PubMed1991

Tunnel washing from the user's viewpoint.

It's become a matter of fact. Whenever a launderer is considering some sort of production upgrade, the tunnel washer is one of the options that is investigated. Everyone is aware of the basic concept of tunnel washing, but all of the units that are marketed in the U.S. have some engineering differences that make them unique. To decide which unit is best for your laundry, it is necessary to do some extensive research. This means talking to manufacturers, knowledgeable chemical suppliers, and other launderers who have already taken the plunge. During the past few years, the DIGEST has asked manufacturers to comment on various aspects of tunnel washing. This year, however, we have decided to get the inside story from operators who have installed these units in their plants. We also have some input from chemical suppliers who are experienced in developing formulas for tunnels.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1991

Readying for a healthcare revolution. Outpatient care: a textile rental service opportunity.

Textile rental companies are poised on the edge of a boom in the healthcare marketplace. The detonator is outpatient care. Between 1984 and 1990, outpatient visits increased from almost 233 million to more than 310 million, or about 33 percent. The shift from traditional hospital care to outpatient or ambulatory service is creating a new market opportunity for textile rental services. Innovative medical services are cropping up in suburban malls and neighborhoods, and demand is high for high-quality linen supply or contract laundry services.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1991

Are your employees protected from blood-borne pathogens? OSHA standards charge textile rental companies with responsibility for worker safety.

Congress is putting pressure on OSHA to finalize its Universal Precaution standards by December. When the standards go into effect, textile rental companies that serve medical, dental, and outpatient care facilities--including private physician and dentist offices--must take steps to protect employees from blood-borne pathogens. Soiled linens, towels, gowns, and other items from any customer in risk categories link a textile rental facility and/or commercial laundry with the OSHA regulations. Read and heed this information.

Humans↗
PubMed1991

On the track of medical waste. Will a national medical waste policy wash up on the beach?

There's no question that medical waste pushes the nation's panic button. It took only two summers (1987 and 1988) of needles and syringes washing ashore to generate a groundswell of public anxiety that caused Congress to pass the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988. The act was the federal government's first attempt at cradle to grave waste management through a two-year pilot program involving four states and Puerto Rico. Now that the act and the pilot program have expired, Congress must evaluate their impact and decide whether to pursue a national medical waste policy. Such a policy likely would address the work practices of occupational groups, such as laundry workers, who frequently have contact with medical waste.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1993

1994 preview.

What can you look forward to in the coming year? We asked leaders in several segments of the laundry industry to polish up their crystal balls, mutter a few incantations and give us their best guess on what the coming year has in store for launderers.

Forecasting↗
PubMed1980

Tax decisions bring good and bad news for hospitals.

Three recent court decisions denying tax exemptions to shared hospital laundry service organizations should dispel the belief that tax exemptions will automatically be granted to shared service organizations. Two other decisions on the sale of goods and services to persons other than hospitals suggest that the IRS is moving toward a position that accepts certain services as indigenous to the exempt functions of a modern community hospital.

Contract Services↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dimensions of offsite distribution: a case study.

How does Support Services maintain user confidence while moving the laundry and central supply departments offsite? That challenge faced The Mont Sinai Medical Center, a 1112-bed Manhattan hospital and medical school, as it prepared for a 5-year, $488 million major modernization program, set to begin in the summer of 1985. Users were openly mistrustful of relocating two departments which had provided responsive on-site services to the hospital and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine since their incorporation in 1852 and 1963, respectively. Yet, the transition to temporary offsite facilities was structured, and generated sufficient user confidence to facilitate a planned move to permanent, state-of-the-art facilities and systems.

Hospital Administration↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patient clothing. The problems of providing a personal clothing service.

Allowing patients or clients in hospital to wear their own clothes is a fundamental part of good nursing care, yet it has not become universal practice, despite being laid down as policy by the Department of Health in 1972. This paper describes one ward's experience of trying to set up a personalised laundry scheme, and the obstacles encountered.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Exposure opportunities of families of farmer pesticide applicators.

BACKGROUND: Families of farmer pesticide applicators have unusual opportunities for exposure, directly or indirectly, to pesticides. These exposures are not well characterized. METHODS: Subjects were 26,793 licensed private pesticide applicators enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study, a cohort study being conducted in Iowa and North Carolina. Questionnaires were completed by the applicators and their spouses. RESULTS: Many indirect exposure opportunities exist; for example, 21% of homes are within 50 yards of pesticide mixing areas, 27% of applicators store pesticides in their homes, and 94% of clothing worn for pesticide work is washed in the same machine as other laundry. Direct exposure opportunities also occur; for example, 51% of wives of applicators worked in the fields in the last growing season, 40% of wives have ever mixed or applied pesticides, and over half of children aged 11 or more do farm chores. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: The extent of the opportunities for exposure of family members of farmer pesticide applicators makes studies of their health important.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Determination of surfactants by capillary electrophoresis.

Capillary electrophoresis has been increasingly used during the past few years for the separation and determination of surfactants. These substances are applied in many household and industrial products such as laundry detergents, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, often as homologous and isomeric mixtures. Product development and control as well as toxicological and environmental analyses require selective and sensitive analytical methods. This review presents capillary electrophoretic techniques to determine important representatives of cationic, anionic, and neutral surfactants. The application of different buffer additives such as organic solvents, cyclodextrins or micelles to enhance the resolution of complex mixtures is discussed. Besides direct and indirect UV and fluorescence detection, examples for conductivity and mass spectrometric detection are also given. Derivatization procedures to improve the detectability and implement charge in neutral analytes are described. The successful use of capillary electrophoresis for surfactant determinations has proven that it can serve as a routine technique in many real-world applications. Robust, validated methods for the quantitation of single compounds, such as alkylbenzene sulfonates, sodium dodecyl sulfate and benzalkonium salts, are now available. Characteristic peak patterns (fingerprint analysis) can be used for the identification of surfactants in multicomponent formulations (e.g. ethoxylates and phosphonates).

Anions↗
PubMed1985

Epidemiology of cancer of the vulva. A case-control study.

Few epidemiologic studies have been undertaken to investigate the etiology of cancer of the vulva. To identify risk factors associated with this cancer, a case-control study was conducted in 149 patients with histologically proven vulvar carcinoma and the same number of control patients matched for age, race, marital status, and hospital from five U.S. metropolitan areas. As previously suspected, we found prior histories of leukoplakia of the vulva, inflammation of the vulva or vagina, and urogenital cancer to be significantly associated with vulvar cancer. In addition, we found moderately high odds ratios associated with occupational histories of private household maids and servants, and work in laundry, cleaning, and other garment services. A slightly increased odds ratio was associated with coffee consumption and a dose-response effect was demonstrated. The findings suggest that environmental exposures may play a role in vulvar carcinogenesis.

Adult↗