BMC Infectious Diseases (Jan 2020)

Clinical and microbiological effect of pulsed xenon ultraviolet disinfection to reduce multidrug-resistant organisms in the intensive care unit in a Japanese hospital: a before-after study

  • Keita Morikane,
  • Shoko Suzuki,
  • Jun Yoshioka,
  • Jun Yakuwa,
  • Masaki Nakane,
  • Kenji Nemoto

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-020-4805-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Abstract Background No-touch environmental disinfection using ultraviolet devices has been highlighted in the past several years to control the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). However, its effectiveness in non-US healthcare settings is yet to be examined. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of disinfection by portable pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) devices in controlling transmission of MDROs in a non-US healthcare setting. Methods All patients admitted in the intensive care unit in a 629-bed tertiary referral hospital in Japan from August 2016 to February 2019 were enrolled. During the study period, PX-UV disinfection was added to manual terminal cleaning after every patient transfer/discharge. For microbiological evaluation, surfaces were selected for sampling by contact plates before/after manual cleaning and after PX-UV. After overnight incubation, colonies on the plates were counted. Results The incidence of newly acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) declined significantly (13.8 to 9.9 per 10,000 patient days, incidence rate ratio 0.71, p = 0.002), as well as that of newly acquired drug-resistant Acinetobacter (48.5 to 18.1, 0.37, p < 0.001). The percent reduction of the microbiological burden by manual cleaning was 81%, but a further 59% reduction was achieved by PX-UV. Conclusions PX-UV is effective in further reducing the microbial burden and controlling MDROs in a non-US healthcare setting.

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