An outbreak of Serratia marcescens bloodstream infections associated with misuse of drug vials in a surgical ward

Angelo Pan; Lucia Dolcetti; Catia Barosi; Patrizia Catenazzi; Tomaso Ceruti; Lucio Ferrari; Silvia Magri; Eugenia Quiros Roldan; Laura Soavi; Giuseppe Carnevale

doi:10.1086/500250

An outbreak of Serratia marcescens bloodstream infections associated with misuse of drug vials in a surgical ward

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2006 Jan;27(1):79-82. doi: 10.1086/500250. Epub 2006 Jan 6.

Authors

Angelo Pan¹, Lucia Dolcetti, Catia Barosi, Patrizia Catenazzi, Tomaso Ceruti, Lucio Ferrari, Silvia Magri, Eugenia Quiros Roldan, Laura Soavi, Giuseppe Carnevale

Affiliation

¹ Divisione di Malattie Infettive, Spedali Civili- Universita degli Studi di Brescia, Italy. ange.pan@tiscali.it

PMID: 16418994
DOI: 10.1086/500250

Abstract

We report an outbreak of Serratia marcescens bloodstream infection due to contamination of total parenteral nutrition solution by insulin or poligeline solution when single-use vials were used for multiple doses in a surgical ward. Four patients had severe sepsis, and no patient died. Multidose vials, used either correctly or incorrectly, may be associated with bloodstream infection.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Bacteremia / epidemiology*
Bacteremia / etiology
Cross Infection / epidemiology
Cross Infection / etiology
Disease Outbreaks
Drug Contamination*
Drug Packaging
Guideline Adherence
Hand Disinfection
Hospital Units
Hospitals, Community
Humans
Italy / epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Serratia Infections / epidemiology*
Serratia Infections / etiology
Serratia marcescens*