Bacterial Contamination Detected In Ultrasound Gels

A study conducted by M. Eyigor and colleagues (Turkey), presented at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, has demonstrated the contamination of sonographic transducers, which can result in outbreaks of hospital infection. All the gels in the hospital were collected to exclude bacterial contamination.

A total of 669 unopened bottles of gels from two different brands were sampled for cultures. In one of the brands - the most expensive one (6€ per bottle) - no bacterial growth was observed in 364 bottles sampled, so these gels were distributed back to the hospital. A total of 305 bottles of the second brand - the cheapest one (1€ per bottle) - were investigated and in 222 (72.8%) of these, bacterial contamination was detected.

source: MedicalnewsToday