Contaminated surfaces in the surgical patient environment can be implicated in the development and transmission of infection. Both soft and hard surfaces comprise the “patient hot zone” defined as the patient bed and 36” surrounding the bed.
Soft surfaces are often more difficult to clean than hard surfaces and have been shown to be involved in development and transmission of infection. The CDC Environmental Services (EVS) guideline even goes so far to recommend avoiding use of upholstered furniture in patient care areas. For all practical purposes, cloth privacy curtains should be avoided in the patient hot zone.
Germs can survive on soft surfaces such as fabrics, and certainly there is evidence that they can be transferred from fabric to hand or fabric to fabric. But transfer was most successful when fabric or hands were wet.
Studies have shown germs can live and survive on soft surfaces such as privacy curtains in the patient hot zone. These surfaces are a true concern for infection prevention because the leading edge of the curtain is continuously contaminated and becomes a potential reservoir for transmission.
An alternate solution to fabric privacy curtains in the patient hot zone is to deploy cost-saving disposable curtains that can be exchanged efficiently without a ladder and that are made from a recyclable non-porous material similar to CSR wrap, face masks, and isolation gowns.
