Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Oct 2004
Experimental confirmation of Serratia marcescens contamination in multiple-dose vials of heparin-saline solution.
The initial contamination of heparin-saline solution (HS) in multiple-dose vials (MDVs) by Serratia marcescens was experimentally investigated using various isolates. Isolates I2 and S1 were from blood specimens from patients with a hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Isolates I13 and FHSM9043 were from urine and blood specimens, respectively, from patients without HAI. ⋯ For exposures of 24 h and 72 h at 4 degrees C to HS with 1% benzyl alcohol as a preservative in MDVs, viable cells of all isolates tested were detected at MIS values of 1 s and 10 s cfu/ml, respectively, increases three orders of magnitude smaller than those of reference strain IFO3736. These results suggest that S. marcescens isolates are readily carried over into the HS of MDVs by piercing a wet, contaminated rubber septum with a syringe needle. Also, despite the sterilization action of 1% benzyl alcohol, the organism persistently survived at 4 degrees C, even when initial contamination was with a small amount of inoculum.