Trinity Guardion Patient Protection System Reduces HAIs by 50 Percent

A recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that in a clinical trial, Trinity Guardion’s launderable barrier bed cover was proven to reduce hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridium difficile (C. diff) by 50 percent.

Led by Edmond Hooker, MD, associate professor in health services administration at Xavier University, along with Mark Bochan, MD, an infectious disease physician with Infectious Disease of Indiana, the trial was conducted at St. Vincent Seton Specialty Hospital in Indianapolis and St. Vincent Seton Specialty Hospital in Lafayette, Ind., over the course of 14 months.

“We compared infection rates before and after these two hospitals began using the bed cover system and discovered that by following the handling and washing instructions, the infection rates were cut in half,” says Hooker.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 500,000 C. diff infections each year in the U.S., causing patients to suffer from an inflamed colon, abdominal pain, severe diarrhea and, in some cases, death. Other CDC studies indicate that “C. difficile has become the most common microbial cause of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals and costs up to $4.8 billion each year in excess healthcare costs for acute care facilities alone.”

“Hospital-acquired infections like C. diff are difficult to treat and easily transmitted,” says Ardis Dee Hoven, MD, an internal medicine and infectious disease specialist, former president of the American Medical Association and current Trinity Guardion board member. “However, new technology such as Trinity Guardion’s bed protection system is truly a breakthrough and will help to control, and hopefully reduce, C. diff rates significantly across the U.S.”

The world’s first and only patented and launderable bed protection system contains an anti-microbial and works by protecting the mattress and bed deck from bacteria that can cause serious infections such as C. diff. The system is designed to be laundered using high heat and chlorine bleach to kill off spores and can stand up to more than 100 washings and still maintain its protection rate.

“This study calls into question the efficacy of disinfectants on both hard and soft surfaces,” says Bruce Rippe, CEO and co-founder of Trinity Guardion. “Soft surface cleaners cannot kill 100 percent of bacteria and they can also seep through mattress covers and into crevices. Hard surface cleaners are not effective on soft surfaces and are very harmful to the mattress. As a result, bacterial spores can lie dormant on these soft surfaces, such as a hospital bed mattress, for months. These spores can become infectious after ingestion. In addition, hospital mattresses are the highest patient touch point and the most soiled medical device with a very weak disinfection process.”

Source: Trinity Guardion