The positive effect of the use of copper-impregnated textiles to augment infection control practices in a health care environment.

More recently, the effect of copper-impregnated textiles on HAIs has been studied in two clinical trials.

The first trial compared the HAI rates on a specialized ward for patients with head injuries over 1 year, separated into two time periods: one period prior to the replacement of bed linens and uniforms worn by staff with copper-impregnated textiles and the second period after substitution of the hospital textiles. Replacing regular textiles with copper-impregnated textiles resulted in a significant reduction of 24% in the HAI rate.

Furthermore, significant reductions were observed in the number of fever days (reduction of 47%) and in the total number of days of antibiotic treatment (32.8% reduction), and a savings of 27% in hospital costs was accomplished. A second study conducted on two ventilator-dependent wards showed similar results for HAI indicators in a crossover, double-blind, controlled trial. Copper fabrics (bed linen, clothing, and towels for patients) were given to one ward, and nonimpregnated textiles were given to the other ward, for a period of 3 months. After a 1-month washout period with the hospital’s usual textiles, copper and control textiles were exchanged for another 3 months. All staff were blind to the nature of the fabrics. Significant reductions were observed in all four indicators for infection, namely, the need for antibiotic treatment (29.3% reduction), number of days with a fever (55.5% reduction), duration of antibiotic therapy (23.0% reduction), and daily dose of antibiotics used (27.5% reduction). Adverse events or skin irritation was not reported.

These trials suggest a positive effect of the use of copper-impregnated textiles to augment infection control practices in a health care environment. Additional and more robust trials (e.g., randomized, blind trials) are required to learn the complete benefit that copper textiles offer in lowering the risk of HAI.

（To be continued）

Copy from cmr.asm.org

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