The research team of Anubhav Kanwar, third-year fellow; Jennifer L. Cadnum, laboratory supervisor; Annette L. Jencson, of the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and Curtis J Donskey, professor of medicine, wrote an article about opportunities for contamination in ice machines at hospitals. The article, titled “Hiding in Plain Sight: Contaminated Ice Machines Are a Potential Source for Dissemination of Gram-Negative Bacteria and Candida Species in Healthcare Facilities,” was published online in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
Their findings conclude that ice machines are almost always contaminated with bacteria or yeast and provide a mechanism for spread to patients. Ice machines are often used by hospital staff, visitors and patients, resulting in the need for effective methods to clean ice machines and improve designs that minimize risk to patients.