The valuable yet often overlooked role that textiles play in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) comes into sharp focus in a recent roundtable discussion held by Infection Control Today® (ICT®). The panel, consisting of medical professionals across various sectors, including members from the healthcare linen industry, microbiology, and clinical medicine backgrounds, highlighted the pivotal part everyday items such as textiles play in preventing infections. Known for their ubiquity in healthcare environments, textiles encompass everything from hospital bedding to privacy curtains, yet their significance in healthcare-associated infection prevention has been largely outsourced till now.
Dr. Maggie Thiemann, a seasoned academic hospitalist, points out the dearth of executive-level discourse regarding textiles in healthcare, as the industry often operates on an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality. This approach, however, falls short when it comes to acknowledging and addressing the role of textiles in causing or propagating HAIs.
Michael Schmidt, PhD, a professor of microbiology and immunology, elucidates the fundamental problem around HAIs—microbes move through the built environment, such as hospital gowns and linens, without hindrance. This issue, compounded with differences in patient demographics and comorbidity conditions, significantly affects the study of textiles’ role in causing infections, further complicating the process of designing effective preventative measures.
Conversely, Eddie Lafeaux, with his extensive experience in the healthcare linen industry, brings the operational perspective of handling healthcare textiles regularly. His insights emphasise that routine items like bed sheets, scrubs, and gowns, moving across facilities, pose a high risk of contamination, particularly in environments with acute and postacute care settings.
The panel also stressed the urgency of innovative leadership to spearhead the robust integration of textiles into infection prevention strategies. Forward-thinking approaches such as the use of antimicrobial textiles or copper-infused fabrics were discussed. Still, successful execution of such initiatives requires leaders who are willing to bring about a novel change in existing processes and take up the mantle of introducing innovative changes.
Given the high acuity and turnover in settings like hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centres, these environments are especially vulnerable to textile-mediated infection spread, necessitating a focus on innovatively incorporating textiles into effective infection prevention bundles.
The roundtable concluded on a pressing note that to better protect our patients, an efficient and innovative solution which includes a focus on textiles is critical. The alarming number of people affected by HAIs in the US each year, with many resulting in fatalities, underscores this need.