title: Outbreak of wound infections following outpatient podiatric surgery due to contaminated bone drills.
abstract: An outbreak of podiatric infections due to an uncommon strain of Proteus mirabilis occurred following outpatient podiatric surgery. An evaluation of the operating room environment failed to reveal the strain of P. mirabilis from any site other than three bone drills. Thus the drills served as the reservoir for the organism that was subsequently inoculated onto the hands of the surgeon or directly to a patient during bone drilling. The gas sterilization procedure that was used to sterilize the drills was found deficient. No additional cases of P. mirabilis infection have been observed since the elimination of the contaminated drills.
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Rutala
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Thomann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005260:Female; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011512:Proteus Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D011513:Proteus mirabilis; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology*