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Background: Bacterial contamination of outlet water from dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) may lead to healthcare-associated infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contamination of DUWLs from new dental chairs before and after their initial shock disinfection with ICX Renew® and to determine the efficacy of this method of shock disinfection., Methods: The microbiological quality of water samples obtained from the DUWLs of 17 new dental chairs installed at the University Hospital of Nancy, France, was assessed. Water samples were collected before and after an initial shock disinfection with one ICX Renew® treatment. Water analysis was used to assess total culturable aerobic bacteria (TCAB) at 22°C and 36°C, Legionella sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and total coliforms., Results: All the DUWLs (17/17) were contaminated by viable aerobic bacteria (TCAB at 22°C and 36°C > 300 CFU/mL), including P. aeruginosa, before shock disinfection. After shock disinfection with ICX Renew®, 24% of DUWLs (4/17) remained contaminated by aerobic bacteria (TCAB at 36°C > 300 CFU/mL for 3/17) and P. aeruginosa (> 100 CFU/100 mL for 1/17)., Conclusions: To reduce the contamination of new dental chairs, initial shock disinfection of DUWLs should be performed to remove biofilms and bacteria from the DUWLs. To ensure the security of care, microbiological analysis of outlet water from DUWLs should be systematically performed before the first clinical use of a new dental chair to determine the efficacy of shock disinfection and the agreement of the results with the dental recommendations for water quality., Clinical Trial Number: Not applicable., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: To study the association between the results of water samples and Pseudomonas aeruginosa healthcare-associated cases in a French university hospital., Methods: Generalized Estimating Equations were used on complete case and imputed datasets. The spatial unit was the building and the time unit was the quarter., Results: For the period 2004-2013, 2932 water samples were studied; 17% were positive for P. aeruginosa. A higher incidence of P. aeruginosa cases was associated with a higher proportion of positive water samples (P=0.056 in complete case analysis and P=0.031 with the imputed dataset). The association was no longer observed when haematology and intensive care units were excluded, but was significant in analyses of data concerning intensive care units alone (P<0.001)., Conclusion: This study suggests that water outlet contamination in hospitals can lead to an increase in healthcare-associated P. aeruginosa cases in wards dealing with susceptible patients, but does not play a significant role in other wards., (Copyright © 2016 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)