The bacterial contamination rate of glucose meter test strips in the hospital setting

OBJECTIVES To assess the rate of bacterial contamination of the multi-use vial and single-use packed glucose meter strips, and to identify the type and frequency of various bacterial contamination in different hospital wards. METHODS This prospective observational study was conducted by a team from the Strategic Center for Diabetes Research in 7 general hospitals in the Central region of Saudi Arabia during the period from August to September 2014 to assess the bacterial contamination rate of the unused strips. A total of 10,447 strips were cultured using proper agar media and incubated both aerobically and anaerobically.  RESULTS The total bacterial contamination rate for the multi-use vials glucose strips was 31.7%, while single-use packed strips were not contaminated at all. Ministry of Health hospitals had the highest contamination rates compared with other hospitals. Critical, obstetric, and surgical wards had the highest bacterial isolates number, where most were in the risk group 3 according to the National Institute of Health guidelines. Staphylococcus species were the most common bacteria found. CONCLUSION Glucose meter strips should be recognized as a source of bacterial contamination that could be behind serious hospital acquired infections. The hospital infection control team should adopt proper measures to implement protocols for glucose meter cleaning and glucose strips handling.