Efficacy of pulsed-xenon ultraviolet light on reduction of .

Objectives: Hospitals and healthcare facilities rely largely on isolation and environmental disinfection to prevent transmission of pathogens. The use of no-touch technology is an accepted practice for environmental decontamination in medical care facilities, but little has been published about the effect of ultraviolet light generated by a portable pulsed-xenon device use on Mycobacteria. We used which is more resistant to ultraviolet radiation and less virulent than , to determine the effectiveness of portable pulsed-xenon devices on in a laboratory environment.

Use of Ultraviolet Irradiation in Addition to Commonly Used Hospital Disinfectants or Cleaners Further Reduces the Bioburden on High-Touch Surfaces.

Background: The reduction in microbial bioburden achieved by terminal disinfection in a hospital may vary considerably by type of disinfectant or cleaner and by environmental service (EVS) personnel. This study estimated whether supplemental ultraviolet (UV) irradiation after disinfection or cleaning reduced bioburden and whether the supplemental effect persisted after adjusting for disinfectant or cleaner type and EVS personnel.

Methods: Environmental samples for aerobic bacterial colonies (ABC) and methicillin-resistant (MRSA) were obtained from 5 high-touch surfaces in patient rooms at 3 time points: before manual cleaning, after manual cleaning using 1 of 3 disinfectants or 1 cleaner, and after UV irradiation.

Interaction of healthcare worker hands and portable medical equipment: a sequence analysis to show potential transmission opportunities.

Background: While research has demonstrated the importance of a clean health care environment, there is a lack of research on the role portable medical equipment (PME) play in the transmission cycle of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). This study investigated the patterns and sequence of contact events among health care workers, patients, surfaces, and medical equipment in a hospital environment.

Methods: Research staff observed patient care events over six different 24 h periods on six different hospital units.

Self-sanitizing copper-impregnated surfaces for bioburden reduction in patient rooms.

Novel self-sanitizing copper oxide-impregnated solid surfaces have the potential to influence bioburden levels, potentially lowering the risk of transmission of pathogens in patient care environments. Our study showed persistently lower microbial burden over a 30-hour sampling period on a copper-impregnated tray table compared with a standard noncopper surface in occupied patient rooms after thorough initial disinfection.

Developing a Checklist: Consensus Via a Modified Delphi Technique.

Objective: To create a universal checklist of key preparatory steps to aid anesthesiologists in patient separation from cardiopulmonary bypass.

Design: Multistep, iterative survey with statistically guided refinement of survey items using a modified Delphi technique.

Setting: Internet-based surveys.

Evaluation of a pulsed xenon ultraviolet light device for isolation room disinfection in a United Kingdom hospital.

Background: Pathogen transmission from contaminated surfaces can cause hospital-associated infections. Although pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) light devices have been shown to decrease hospital room bioburden in the United States, their effectiveness in United Kingdom (UK) hospitals is less understood.

Methods: Forty isolation rooms at the Queens Hospital (700 beds) in North London, UK, were sampled for aerobic bacteria after patient discharge, after manual cleaning with a hypochlorous acid-troclosene sodium solution, and after PX-UV disinfection.

Comparison of Environmental MRSA Levels on High-Touch Surfaces in Contact Isolation and Noncontact Isolation Patient Rooms.

Environmental samples were collected from 100 hospital rooms, 32 noncontact rooms, and 68 contact isolation rooms. We isolated 202 and 1,830 MRSA colonies in noncontact and contact isolation rooms, respectively. The study identified MRSA isolates in hospital rooms of patients without colonization or infection with MRSA.

Origin of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus health care-associated infections: evaluation of the role of anterior nares.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a cause of extended hospitalizations and escalating health care costs. We typed 49 MRSA HAIs and their corresponding admission nasal MRSA isolates to determine strain-relatedness and better define the role of anterior nares in the causation of HAI and the value of decolonization. Based on repetitive extragenic palindromic sequencing polymerase chain reaction results, the majority of our patients possibly acquired MRSA HAI from nonnasal sources (36 out of 49; 74%).

Is the pulsed xenon ultraviolet light no-touch disinfection system effective on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the absence of manual cleaning?

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been shown to survive on ambient surfaces for extended periods of time. Leftover MRSA environmental contamination in a hospital room places future patients at risk. Manual disinfection supplemented by pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) light disinfection has been shown to greatly decrease the MRSA bioburden in hospital rooms.

Disinfecting personal protective equipment with pulsed xenon ultraviolet as a risk mitigation strategy for health care workers.

The doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) after contamination with pathogens such as Ebola poses a risk to health care workers. Pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) disinfection has been used to disinfect surfaces in hospital settings. This study examined the impact of PX-UV disinfection on an Ebola surrogate virus on glass carriers and PPE material to examine the potential benefits of using PX-UV to decontaminate PPE while worn, thereby reducing the pathogen load prior to doffing.

Can pulsed xenon ultraviolet light systems disinfect aerobic bacteria in the absence of manual disinfection?

Whereas pulsed xenon-based ultraviolet light no-touch disinfection systems are being increasingly used for room disinfection after patient discharge with manual cleaning, their effectiveness in the absence of manual disinfection has not been previously evaluated. Our study indicates that pulsed xenon-based ultraviolet light systems effectively reduce aerobic bacteria in the absence of manual disinfection. These data are important for hospitals planning to adopt this technology as adjunct to routine manual disinfection.

Checklist usage decreases critical task omissions when training residents to separate from simulated cardiopulmonary bypass.

Objective: Separation from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) requires multiple preparatory steps, during which mistakes, omissions, and human errors may occur. Checklists have been used extensively in aviation to improve performance of complex, multistep tasks. The aim of this study was to (1) develop a checklist using a modified Delphi process to identify essential steps necessary to prepare for separation from CPB, and (2) compare the frequency of completed items with and without the use of a checklist in simulation.

Accuracy of noninvasive estimated continuous cardiac output (esCCO) compared to thermodilution cardiac output: a pilot study in cardiac patients.

Objective: To compare the noninvasive estimated continuous cardiac output (esCCO), device-derived cardiac output (CO) to simultaneous pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) thermodilution (TD) CO.

Design: A prospective study comparing pulse wave transit time (estimated continuous cardiac output, esCCO; Nihon Kohden, Tokyo, Japan) to intermittent TD CO.

Setting: One academic hospital.

Evaluating the status of "translating research into practice" at a major academic healthcare system.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the status of translating research findings into practice at a major academic healthcare system in Central Texas.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey addressing knowledge of and participation in translational research of physicians, residents, nurses and third- and fourth-year medical students in a major academic healthcare system in Central Texas.

Results: Out of 508 respondents, 428 (84.

Using simulation to orient code blue teams to a new hospital facility.

Objectives: Prompt and successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation during a sudden cardiac arrest can be hindered by multiple variables, ie, ineffective communication, stress, lack of training, and an unfamiliar environment, such as a new hospital facility. The main objective of the study was to use high-fidelity simulations to orient Code Blue Teams (CBTs) to critical events in a new hospital facility. A secondary objective was to elucidate factors that may have contributed to responses by debriefing teams.