One in four reactive strips to measure glucose in collective containers are contaminated, the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH) has warned, which recommends those presented in individual format because they are safer and at an efficient cost.
One in four reactive strips to measure glucose in collective containers are contaminated, has warned the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH), which recommends those presented in individual format because they are safer and at an efficient cost. According to a study conductedFor six weeks in a hospital to investigate bacterial contamination in 148 reactive strips packaged in 50 units bottles, 25.7 % of those analyzed had pathogenic microorganisms, SEFH points out in a statement.
This scientific society recalls that the prevention of nosocomial infections caused by contaminated strips would involve great savings for health systems;In Spain they constitute more than 7,000 million euros per year and affect 7% of hospitalized patients.
Experts explain that the narrow access of multi -purpose roads facilitates that there may be a manual cross contamination of the strips and fingers, since, in addition, these devices pass from one room to another from the hospital, so they recommend that they be dispensed inindividual units that can be administered without being touched.
Among the guidelines to follow, they remember that the reactive strips should not be exposed to the environment, since this can influence their malfunction.
The individual format prevents its exposure to moisture and other substances from abroad, guaranteeing its proper functioning until the expiration date and thus minimizing errors in measurements due to the poor state of these devices.With medications or other substances, they warn. For SEFH, hospital pharmacy services, as well as those of preventive and laboratory medicine, among others, they should be consulted with the aim of guaranteeing security in measurement, as well as that the entireprocess is as effective as possible.
