Hospital Achieves 73% Reduction in SSIs with Indigo-Clean Continuous Environmental Disinfection

A year-long research study proving that Indigo-Clean Continuous Environmental Disinfection reduces surgical site infections (SSIs) – not just the bacteria that causes them – was presented at the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo in New Orleans on March 26, 2018.

Lynnelle Murrell, director of infection prevention at Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, Tenn., presented a Clinical Improvement/Innovation Poster at the conference that highlighted the results of using Indigo-Clean in conjunction with a robust infection prevention program. Within 12-months, Indigo-Clean was shown to reduce bacteria in the operating room by 85 percent, and the number of surgical site infections was reduced by 73 percent. An adjacent control OR without the Indigo-Clean light fixture also showed a reduction in both bacteria and SSIs; the distant control OR, with no Indigo-Clean, saw bacteria reduction as well.

Murrell concludes that:
• SSI prevention requires multiple activities throughout the entire peri-and postoperative time period
• Infection preventionists must continue to ask, “What more can we do”?
• Visual light disinfection provides another means of patient protection by continuously reducing bacteria in the OR
• Lights may provide greater benefit when paired with a robust SSI program

Indigo-Clean fixtures use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to generate visible white light that also contains a narrow spectrum of indigo colored light. This indigo color uses a wavelength of 405 nanometers (nm) to automatically, safely and continuously disinfect the air, and hard and soft surfaces. The 405nm light is absorbed by molecules within bacteria, producing a chemical reaction that kills the bacteria from the inside as if common household bleach has been released within the bacterial cells. When the OR is not in use, the lights can be switched to an Indigo-only mode, providing a higher degree of safe disinfection.
Indigo-Clean bolsters current disinfecting efforts to reduce harmful bacteria in the environment. Recent hospital research studies have proven significant antimicrobial kill rates of more than 70 percent, including proven efficacy in killing MRSA* and C. diff**. Preventing even a single SSI, which increases healthcare costs over $25,000 per infection***, provides healthcare facilities with an immediate return on their Indigo-Clean investment.

*Per independent lab report #SGS-09516076094: contact Kenall Lighting for a copy of this report.
** Antimicrobial Activity of a Continuous Visible Light Disinfection System by Rutala, et. al, ID Week 2016.
***https://apic.org/Resource_/EliminationGuideForm/34e03612-d1e6-4214-a76b-e532c6fc3898/File/APIC-Ortho-Guide.pdf

Source: Kenall Manufacturing