Ultraviolet lights and common hospital bacteria

Evaluation of an automated ultraviolet radiation device for decontamination of Clostridium difficile and other healthcare-associated pathogens in hospital roomsMichelle M Nerandzic1, Jennifer L Cadnum1, Michael J Pultz1 and Curtis J Donskey1,2* * Corresponding author: Curtis J Donskey curtisd123@yahoo.comAuthor Affiliations1 Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 10701 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio, USA 2 Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 10701 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio, USA For all author emails, please log on. BMC Infectious Diseases 2010, 10:197 doi:10.1186/1471-2334-10-197The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/10/197Received:3 January 2010Accepted:8 July 2010Published:8 July 2010© 2010 Nerandzic et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. AbstractBackgroundEnvironmental surfaces play an important role in transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens. There is a need for new disinfection methods that are effective against Clostridium difficile spores, but also safe, rapid, and automated.MethodsThe Tru-D™ Rapid Room Disinfection device is a mobile, fully-automated room decontamination technology that utilizes ultraviolet-C irradiation to kill pathogens. We examined the efficacy of environmental disinfection using the Tru-D device in the laboratory and in rooms of hospitalized patients. Cultures for C. difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) were collected from commonly touched surfaces before and after use of Tru-D.ResultsOn inoculated surfaces, application of Tru-D at a reflected dose of 22,000 μWs/cm2 for ~45 minutes consistently reduced recovery of C. difficile spores and MRSA by >2-3 log10 colony forming units (CFU)/cm2 and of VRE by >3-4 log10 CFU/cm2. Similar killing of MRSA and VRE was achieved in ~20 minutes at a reflected dose of 12,000 μWs/cm2, but killing of C. difficile spores was reduced. Disinfection of hospital rooms with Tru-D reduced the frequency of positive MRSA and VRE cultures by 93% and of C. difficile cultures by 80%. After routine hospital cleaning of the rooms of MRSA carriers, 18% of sites under the edges of bedside tables (i.e., a frequently touched site not easily amenable to manual application of disinfectant) were contaminated with MRSA, versus 0% after Tru-D (P < 0.001). The system required <5 minutes to set up and did not require continuous monitoring.ConclusionsThe Tru-D Rapid Room Disinfection device is a novel, automated, and efficient environmental disinfection technology that significantly reduces C. difficile, VRE and MRSA contamination on commonly touched hospital surfaces.