UV-C Room Decontamination System Shown to Reduce Surface Contamination in Hospital Transplant Units

STERIS Corporation announces results of an independent six-month study on the implementation and effectiveness of ultraviolet-C energy for terminal room decontamination. Abhishek Deshpande, MD, PhD, principal investigator at Cleveland Clinic, presented the findings during the spring 2016 meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). The results showed a 94 percent reduction of C. difficile and MRSA contamination on environmental surfaces in two transplant units.

The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of standard cleaning vs. standard cleaning with the addition of the use of a STERIS product, Pathogon™ UV Disinfection System, an automated UV decontamination system. Cultures were collected for C. difficile, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria on high-touch surfaces after both methods of cleaning were completed. Following standard cleaning alone, 18 of the 50 rooms (36%) cultured were shown to have MRSA and/or C. difficile contamination; following standard cleaning plus Pathogon UV decontamination, only one of the rooms (2%) cultured was shown to have MRSA and/or C. difficile contamination (p< 0.01). The investigators concluded that “the device was effective in significantly reducing environmental surface contamination that was frequently present after completion of standard cleaning.” There were no complaints from nursing staff or environmental services personnel regarding the time required for use of the device.

“Use of mobile UVC decontamination systems, as an adjunct to manual cleaning, is increasingly being adopted by the healthcare community as an effective and practical way to lower the pathogen load on high touch environmental surfaces and help to further reduce the potential risk of healthcare associated infections,” said Douglas Goldman, senior product manager at STERIS Corporation. “The results of the current study provide evidence of the technology’s effectiveness and help explain why incorporation of UVC room treatment into hospital cleaning protocols is quickly becoming a best practice.”

Source: STERIS Corporation