Microbiological Screening of Re-usable Pressure Relieving, Low-Airloss Therapeutic Beds to Determine the Efficacy of the Decontamination Process

Microbiological screening of 1,687 reusable low-airloss therapeutic beds assessed the effectiveness of an updated decontamination process using whole-surface POLYWIPE™ sponge sampling with broth enrichment and culture for key pathogens. Only four mattresses (0.23%) yielded potentially pathogenic organisms (Enterococcus faecalis/E. faecium), with no VRE or linked strains detected. The remaining samples showed only environmental flora or no growth, demonstrating a highly effective decontamination process and supporting sponge-based enrichment methods for sensitive environmental validation.