Inanimate surfaces within a hospital serve as a reservoir of microbial life that may colonize patients and ultimately result in healthcare associated infections (HAIs). Critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are particularly vulnerable to HAIs. Little is known about how the microbiome of the ICU is established or what factors influence its evolution over time. A unique opportunity to bridge the knowledge gap into how the ICU microbiome evolves emerged in our health system, where we were able to characterize microbial communities in an established hospital ICU prior to closing for renovations, during renovations, and then after re-opening. We collected swab specimens from ICU bedrails, computer keyboards, and sinks longitudinally at each renovation stage, and analyzed the bacterial compositions on these surfaces by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Specimens collected before ICU closure had the greatest alpha diversity, while specimens collected after the ICU had been closed for over 300 days had the least. We sampled the ICU during the 45 days after re-opening; however, within that time frame, the alpha diversity never reached pre-closure levels. There were clear and significant differences in microbiota compositions at each renovation stage, which was driven by environmental bacteria after closure and human-associated bacteria after re-opening and before closure. Overall, we identified significant differences in microbiota diversity and community composition at each renovation stage. These data help to decipher the evolution of the microbiome in the most critical part of the hospital and demonstrate the significant impacts that microbiota from patients and staff have on the evolution of ICU surfaces.

中文翻译：

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在重症监护病房整修过程中，细菌群落多样性和组成随时间变化。


医院内的无生命表面是微生物生命的储存库，这些微生物可能在患者体内定殖，并最终导致医疗保健相关感染 (HAI)。重症监护病房 (ICU) 中的重症患者特别容易受到医院感染。对于 ICU 微生物群是如何建立的，或者哪些因素影响其随时间的演变，人们知之甚少。我们的卫生系统中出现了一个弥合关于 ICU 微生物组如何演变的知识差距的独特机会，我们能够在关闭翻修之前、翻修期间以及重新开放后描述已建成的医院 ICU 中微生物群落的特征。我们在各个改造阶段纵向采集了ICU床栏、电脑键盘、水槽等表面的拭子标本，并通过16S rRNA基因测序分析了这些表面的细菌组成。 ICU关闭前采集的标本具有最大的α多样性，而ICU关闭超过300天后采集的标本具有最小的α多样性。我们在 ICU 重新开放后的 45 天内进行了采样；然而，在这段时间内，阿尔法多样性从未达到关闭前的水平。每个改造阶段的微生物群组成都存在明显且显着的差异，这是由关闭后的环境细菌以及重新开放后和关闭前的人类相关细菌驱动的。总体而言，我们发现每个改造阶段的微生物群多样性和群落组成存在显着差异。这些数据有助于破译医院最关键部分微生物群的演变，并证明患者和工作人员的微生物群对 ICU 表面演变的重大影响。