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INFECTION PREVENTION & CONTROL
Preventing infectionwith cleaning and hygiene
Cleaning and hygiene continue to play a central role in the fight against healthcare associated infections (HAIs). Although effective cleaning and disinfection can decrease environmental pathogens, reducing the risk of infections, Tinaz Ranina, product manager, infection prevention & personal care at Diversey UK & Ireland, warns that, due to the complexity of hospital environments, this can often result in cleaning that is inadequate.
Infections, particularly those caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), represent a significant impact on patient morbidity and mortality and increase the financial burden on healthcare systems. Contaminated environmental surfaces have been shown to be an important source for transmission of HAIs, particularly through touch and subsequent personal contact.1 Suppliers continue to develop innovations that offer healthcare cleaning teams wider choice to implement the most effective solution to meet infection prevention targets.
UV-C disinfection
One of the techniques that is growing in popularity is the use of UV-C disinfection as an adjunct technology to complement and enhance the effectiveness of manual disinfection processes, particularly in hospital settings where HAIs are of major concern. UV-C has long been proven as an effective technology to reduce contamination and the potential for infection. This short- wavelength ultraviolet light kills or inactivates microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unable to perform vital cellular functions. It can disinfect surfaces quickly and effectively.2
Deploying UV-C alongside
traditional disinfectants reduced HAIs by 33%,3
according to one recent paper. At least 40 scientific studies measure its biocidal effect on micro-organisms or the impact on HAI rates. There is also much less chance of pathogens developing any form of resistance because UV-C disinfection is a physical rather than chemical process. UV-C provides additional assurance that frequent-touch and hard-to-clean surfaces have been disinfected. It represents a hands- , chemical- and fume-free way to implement safer disinfection. There are many UV-C
SEPTEMBER 2019
towards, and set as close as possible, to the target surfaces. This ensures more of the UV-C produced will hit the surface at right angles, and at the minimum distance to give the best disinfection.
Despite the advantages of UV-C, few cost-effective practical systems were, until recently, available for routine use in healthcare settings.4
The latest devices now
produce powerful UV-C light at the optimum wavelengths to provide fast broad-spectrum disinfection in as little as three minutes. This is more than twice as fast as fogging, and almost twice as effective as traditional cleaning and disinfection alone, in destroying the pathogens that cause healthcare associated infections.
There are other practical advantages
devices offered in the market with varying designs. The latest developments make the process simpler to utilise and more practical in real-life settings. Since UV-C disinfection involves light waves, it is important to ensure light sources are parallel to the surfaces most likely to be contaminated or frequently touched in a patient environment. Several studies have shown that the power and speed of UV-C disinfection can be impacted by distance and angle. The strength of the UV-C light decreases the further away it gets from the light source, following the inverse square law. Because of this, the design of the UV-C device can impact the strength of dose applied to surfaces, impacting the level and speed of disinfection. Systems delivering UV-C must therefore ensure the maximum amount hits the target surface to give the most powerful disinfection. One way to achieve this is to mount the UV-C sources on arms that can be positioned independently and pointed
of UV-C technologies. With fogging, for example, areas must be taken out of commission to allow equipment which is often large and cumbersome to be installed. This typically takes far longer than the disinfection time. Afterwards, the equipment must be removed and the area allowed to dry before it can be used. With UV-C, the equipment is simply wheeled in, used and removed within a matter of minutes. That makes it a viable option for disinfection in busy and high throughput settings, with little or no impact on room availability. This means the technology can be used throughout a hospital, including patient rooms, operating rooms and bathrooms. Such systems can also be used on patient care equipment, fixtures, keyboards, monitors, and workstations.
Targeted Approach
While innovative technologies such as UV-C offer new approaches to infection prevention, the healthcare sector continues to evolve its understanding of the relationship between infection rates, surface disinfection and hand
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