Innovation in The Village: Wounds, C.diff and A Mattress Cover

C.difficile infection caused nearly 500,000 infections and 29,000 death in the United States in 2015¹. C.difficile is transmittable through hands and surfaces and exposure to spores. Aggressive infection prevention and control interventions have been employed including handwashing/handwashing surveillance of caregivers, isolation and lab studies to confirm diagnosis and clearing of the germ. Wounded patients are particularly vulnerable C.difficile infection from compromised skin integrity. Inadvertent transmission of C.difficile through inanimate objects, including the mattress and bed-deck has been suggested². Traditional terminal cleaning of fails to eliminate bacteria from the surface of the mattress and bed-deck³, and the cleaners use may be harmful to the mattress covers⁴. One long-term acute care facility (LTACH) in Virginia decreased the incidence of C.difficile by 71% just by replacing existing bed-decks with new ones⁵, which supports the notion that inanimate objects may be loaded with vectors that prey upon patients. Two LTACHs in Indiana found that the launderable mattress cover did not lead to an increase in pressure injuries².

A launderable mattress cover may be an enhancement to the inhibition of transmission of C.difficile from patient to patient. With traditional disinfectants being found to impair mattress covers on therapeutic mattresses, the risk/benefit ratio of a launderable mattress cover must be evaluated. Erosion of the surface may exposure patients to vectors, and ultimately will impact the cost of pressure injury prevention as new covers must be purchased as others breakdown. The usefulness of a commercially launderable mattress pad must be considered as an option to decrease wound infections, decrease the incidence of C.difficile transmission, and as an enhancement to the established and traditional infection prevention and control programs. The launderable mattress cover may indeed complete the village, and may keep patients safer from opportunistic infections.