Aysel Karataş, Mert Ahmet Kuşkucu, Gökhan Aygün, Kemal Altaş
The Injector - 2025;4(2):43-51
Objective: Antiseptics and disinfectants are widely used to prevent and control nosocomial infections (NIs). As with antibiotics, the increasing use of these agents has raised concerns regarding the potential development of resistance to them. In this study, the efficacy of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) against common NI agents was investigated. Methods: This study examined bacteria isolated from various clinical specimens obtained from patients hospitalised in the intensive care unit at a microbiology laboratory. The isolate group consisted of two methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), five methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), seven Klebsiella pneumoniae , two Escherichia coli , ten Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and eight Acinetobacter baumannii . The effectiveness of 1/10, 1/100, and 1/1000 dilutions of NaClO was tested at contact times of 2.5, 5, and 10 minutes against these bacterial isolates. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 were used as quality control strains. Results: The study revealed that 10% NaClO demonstrated a bactericidal effect against all isolates and standard strains when diluted 1/10 at all contact times. As the dilution rate increased, longer contact times were required for the solution to achieve bactericidal activity against an Acinetobacter baumannii isolate. However, one Acinetobacter baumannii isolate remained resistant to a 1:1000 dilution of NaClO after 10 minutes of contact. Although a slight statistical difference was observed between contact times at higher NaClO dilution rates for A. baumannii (p=0.06), this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: When diluted 1:100, 10% NaClO was found to be effective against common nosocomial pathogens. Microorganism growth was detected at lower NaClO concentrations.
