| Popis: |
To evaluate the effectiveness and the frequency of use of a pulsed xenon ultraviolet light-emitting no-touch portable device (PX-UV), applied after perform current cleaning, in reducing environmental bacterial burden and the presence of pathogens on surfaces in the operating rooms at the Policlinico University Hospital of Foggia.Prospective before-and-after study with a follow up duration of four months, from May to August 2019.Two operating rooms of an Orthopaedic and a Neurosurgical ward in a 780-bed university hospital in the District of Foggia, Italy (about 600,000 inhabitants).According to the hygienic standards proposed by the Italian Workers Compensation Authority (ISPESL), the total and the average bacterial load and the presence of six pathogens were evaluated between pre- and post- PX-UV use combined with routine manual cleaning.The PX-UV system was applied at five distinct time points: t1: start of the experiment, t2: after 28 days, t3: after 13 days, t4: after 7 days, and t5: after 8 days (t2-t5: 28 days in total). About 16-min of PX-UV cycle showed significant reduction in the level of environmental contamination by decreasing the mean colony count by 87.5%, compliant with the standard (5lt; X ≤15 CFU per plat). Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii that had been isolated in some of the samplings before PX-UV were no longer detected after t1, t2 and t5 treatments. Before PX-UV, the mean colony count was similar between t1 and t2 (pgt;0.05); after t3 and t4 treatments, it was lower before t5 in both the Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical operating rooms (= -97% and -75%, respectively; plt;0,01).Implication for practice: PX-UV could supplement the standard cleaning process in reducing the microbial burden in the operating rooms and potentially achieving lower healthcare-associated surgical site infections rates. |
