Contamination of Patient-Contact Surfaces In Radiology Departments

To the Editor:— A bacteriological analysis of patient-contact surfaces in some departments of radiology will show that complete asepsis is lacking.1 Spillage from a patient receiving a barium enema can at times seem unavoidable. Excretion may contain causitive organisms of disease which primarily affect systems other than the gastrointestinal tract, such as ova, parasites, hepatitis virus, mycobacteria, and coxsackievirus.2,3 It has been shown that intestinal parasites among hospital employees is not uncommon.4 It is the purpose of this letter to demonstrate contamination of the x-ray apparatus at its patient-contact surfaces. Culture plates were applied directly to patient-contact surfaces before and after cleansing with a small commercially prepared antiseptic germicidal towel containing benzalkonium chloride (1:750) and alcohol (20%). The areas in which culture plates were applied were as follows: x-ray chest rack and chin support, head of x-ray table, and middle of x-ray table. In addition, to determine