Assessment of the effectiveness of ultraviolet-C disinfection on transmission of hospital-acquired pathogens from prior room occupants

• Main Authors: Jacob C. Hodges (Author), Andrew L. Bilderback (Author), Christine M. Bridge (Author), Suzanne Wagester (Author), Bonnie V. Colaianne (Author), Ahmed Babiker (Author), Tami Minnier (Author), Rachel L. Zapf (Author), Paula L. Kip (Author), Graham M. Snyder (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Cambridge University Press, 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) disinfection as an adjunct to standard chlorine-based disinfectant terminal room cleaning in reducing transmission of hospital-acquired multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) from a prior room occupant. Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to compare rates of MDRO transmission by UV-C status from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2018. Setting: Acute-care, single-patient hospital rooms at 6 hospitals within an academic healthcare system in Pennsylvania. Methods: Transmission of hospital-acquired MDRO infection was assessed in patients subsequently assigned to a single-patient room of a source occupant with carriage of 1 or more MDROs on or during admission. Acquisition of 5 pathogens was compared between exposed patients in rooms with standard-of-care chlorine-based disinfectant terminal cleaning with or without adjunct UV-C disinfection. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the adjusted risk of pathogen transfer with adjunctive use of UV-C disinfection. Results: In total, 33,771 exposed patient admissions were evaluated; the source occupants carried 46,688 unique pathogens. Prior to the 33,771 patient admissions, 5,802 rooms (17.2%) were treated with adjunct UV-C disinfection. After adjustment for covariates, exposed patients in rooms treated with adjunct UV-C were at comparable risk of transfer of any pathogen (odds ratio, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.84-1.32; P = .64). Conclusion: Our analysis does not support the use of UV-C in addition to post-discharge cleaning with chlorine-based disinfectant to lower the risk of prior room occupant pathogen transfer.

Item Description

10.1017/ash.2022.254
2732-494X