title: Bed capacities and disinfection practices in hospitals in Istanbul are correlated.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Disinfection, antisepsis and sterilization (DAS) practices are of critical importance in hospital practice. This study aims to investigate the daily DAS practices of private hospitals in Istanbul, Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  The DAS practices of 155 private hospitals in Istanbul province were investigated using a questionnaire including 26 questions. The questionnaire forms were faxed to all private hospitals located in Istanbul. A p value < 0.05 accepted as significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 75 [48%] hospitals out of 155 hospitals responded. The quality of DAS practice was correlated with hospital bed capacity. In these hospitals, glutaraldehyde (27%) was the most common chemical used to disinfect endoscopy instruments. The rate of availability of air gun in endoscopy units in these hospitals was significantly associated with hospital bed capacity (p <0.001). Sticky mats placed at doors of risky areas were not reported to be used in the large bed capacity (LBC) hospitals unlike the small bed capacity (SBC) hospitals where 50% of these hospitals reported to use the sticky door mats (p =0.0144).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Private hospitals in Istanbul need in-service training towards sterilization and disinfection issues. It is concluded that private hospitals need policies and educational activities for DAS practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Private Nisa Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. tekerb@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Bahri
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Teker
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Medicine Faculty of Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey. drogutlu@hotmail.com.|Health Science Institute of Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey. drogutlu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Aziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ogutlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Medicine Faculty of Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey. myilmaz@medipol.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Mesut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Kartal Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. gencerse@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Serap
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gencer
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Medicine Faculty of Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey. drkarabay@gmail.com.|Health Science Institute of Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey. drkarabay@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Oguz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Karabay
mesh_terms: D000985:Antisepsis / Q000379:methods; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity; D016304:Hospitals, Private; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey