327875
Accelerated hospital room decontamination by ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) paired with UV-reflective wall coating
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Shawn Gibbs, PhD, MBA, CIH,
College of Public Health, Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Philip Smith, MD,
Internal Medicine Section of Infectious Disease, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
John-Martin Lowe, PhD, MS,
College of Public Health, Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Background: The 1.7 million hospital acquired infections (HAI) every year in the United States have necessitated development of environmental disinfection technologies. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), a disinfection technique proven successful in deactivating environmental pathogenic microorganisms, has limited use in the clinical setting, requiring direct UV exposure and an extensive treatment time. We aimed to evaluate the use of a UV-reflective wall coating in combination with UVGI to disinfect hospital room surfaces contaminated with HAI-associated bacteria. Methods: Sampling coupons replicating common hospital room surfaces (e.g. sink, keyboard, etc.) were contaminated with drops of organism concentrations of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. Sampling coupons were distributed throughout a laboratory simulated “hospital room.” One hospital room had standard painted walls (control) and one room had UV-reflective paint coated walls (experimental). A UVGI generator, positioned in the center of the simulated room, completed a dosage-standardized UV-treatment cycle measured by a UV-sensor positioned throughout the room. Treatment time was recorded and sampling coupons were swabbed to determine germicidal kill. Results: The treatment cycle times were reduced in the UV-reflective coated hospital room for germicidal kill compared to the standard painted hospital room in obtaining identical UV dosages. Conclusions: UV-reflective wall coating reduced the hospital room UVGI disinfection time to allow for a more rapid decontamination process in the clinical setting. Future studies are needed to determine the practical application of UV-reflective wall coatings in disinfection of various clinical settings.
Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Environmental health sciences
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Compare ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) bacterial disinfection treatment times between a laboratory simulated “hospital room” coated with standard paint versus coated with an ultraviolet (UV) reflective wall paint.
Discuss the limitations, parameters, and potentials of using ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) in combination with an ultraviolet (UV)-reflective wall coating in hospital room environmental surface disinfection of nosocomial bacterial strains.
Keyword(s): Environmental Health, Pathogens
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Masters of Public Health graduate student in the University of Nebraska Medical Center's College of Public health and a research assistant with the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit and Department of Environmental, Occupational & Agricultural Health. My research interests include environmental infection control and decontamination, occupational health and safety in caring for patients with highly infectious diseases, and emerging technologies in clinical environmental infection control.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
