Background: Environmental surfaces play an important role in transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens.\r\nThere is a need for new disinfection methods that are effective against Clostridium difficile spores, but also safe, rapid,\r\nand automated.\r\n\r\nMethods: The Tru-Dââ??¢ Rapid Room Disinfection device is a mobile, fully-automated room decontamination technology\r\nthat utilizes ultraviolet-C irradiation to kill pathogens. We examined the efficacy of environmental disinfection using the\r\nTru-D device in the laboratory and in rooms of hospitalized patients. Cultures for C. difficile, methicillin-resistant\r\nStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) were collected from commonly touched\r\nsurfaces before and after use of Tru-D.\r\n\r\nResults: On inoculated surfaces, application of Tru-D at a reflected dose of 22,000 Ã?µWs/cm2 for ~45 minutes\r\nconsistently reduced recovery of C. difficile spores and MRSA by >2-3 log10 colony forming units (CFU)/cm2 and of VRE\r\nby >3-4 log10 CFU/cm2. Similar killing of MRSA and VRE was achieved in ~20 minutes at a reflected dose of 12,000 Ã?µWs/\r\ncm2, but killing of C. difficile spores was reduced. Disinfection of hospital rooms with Tru-D reduced the frequency of\r\npositive MRSA and VRE cultures by 93% and of C. difficile cultures by 80%. After routine hospital cleaning of the rooms\r\nof MRSA carriers, 18% of sites under the edges of bedside tables (i.e., a frequently touched site not easily amenable to\r\nmanual application of disinfectant) were contaminated with MRSA, versus 0% after Tru-D (P < 0.001). The system\r\nrequired <5 minutes to set up and did not require continuous monitoring.\r\n\r\nConclusions: The Tru-D Rapid Room Disinfection device is a novel, automated, and efficient environmental\r\ndisinfection technology that significantly reduces C. difficile, VRE and MRSA contamination on commonly touched\r\nhospital surfaces.
Loading....