Sorting through the wealth of options: comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems.
<h4>Background</h4>Environmental surfaces play an important role in the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens. Because environmental cleaning is often suboptimal, there is a growing demand for safe, rapid, and automated disinfection technologies, which has lead to a wealth of n...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107444 |
| _version_ | 1819100839934951424 |
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| author | Michelle M Nerandzic Christopher W Fisher Curtis J Donskey |
| author_facet | Michelle M Nerandzic Christopher W Fisher Curtis J Donskey |
| author_sort | Michelle M Nerandzic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>Environmental surfaces play an important role in the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens. Because environmental cleaning is often suboptimal, there is a growing demand for safe, rapid, and automated disinfection technologies, which has lead to a wealth of novel disinfection options available on the market. Specifically, automated ultraviolet-C (UV-C) devices have grown in number due to the documented efficacy of UV-C for reducing healthcare-acquired pathogens in hospital rooms. Here, we assessed and compared the impact of pathogen concentration, organic load, distance, and radiant dose on the killing efficacy of two analogous UV-C devices.<h4>Principal findings</h4>The devices performed equivalently for each impact factor assessed. Irradiation delivered for 41 minutes at 4 feet from the devices consistently reduced C. difficile spores by ∼ 3 log10CFU/cm2, MRSA by>4 log10CFU/cm2, and VRE by >5 log10CFU/cm2. Pathogen concentration did not significantly impact the killing efficacy of the devices. However, both a light and heavy organic load had a significant negative impacted on the killing efficacy of the devices. Additionally, increasing the distance to 10 feet from the devices reduced the killing efficacy to ≤3 log10CFU/cm2 for MRSA and VRE and <2 log10CFU/cm2 for C.difficile spores. Delivery of reduced timed doses of irradiation particularly impacted the ability of the devices to kill C. difficile spores. MRSA and VRE were reduced by >3 log10CFU/cm2 after only 10 minutes of irradiation, while C. difficile spores required 40 minutes of irradiation to achieve a similar reduction.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The UV-C devices were equally effective for killing C. difficile spores, MRSA, and VRE. While neither device would be recommended as a stand-alone disinfection procedure, either device would be a useful adjunctive measure to routine cleaning in healthcare facilities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:09:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d1412eba1e5a4aa29cecd0ae7774987c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:09:09Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-d1412eba1e5a4aa29cecd0ae7774987c2022-12-21T18:44:01ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0199e10744410.1371/journal.pone.0107444Sorting through the wealth of options: comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems.Michelle M NerandzicChristopher W FisherCurtis J Donskey<h4>Background</h4>Environmental surfaces play an important role in the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens. Because environmental cleaning is often suboptimal, there is a growing demand for safe, rapid, and automated disinfection technologies, which has lead to a wealth of novel disinfection options available on the market. Specifically, automated ultraviolet-C (UV-C) devices have grown in number due to the documented efficacy of UV-C for reducing healthcare-acquired pathogens in hospital rooms. Here, we assessed and compared the impact of pathogen concentration, organic load, distance, and radiant dose on the killing efficacy of two analogous UV-C devices.<h4>Principal findings</h4>The devices performed equivalently for each impact factor assessed. Irradiation delivered for 41 minutes at 4 feet from the devices consistently reduced C. difficile spores by ∼ 3 log10CFU/cm2, MRSA by>4 log10CFU/cm2, and VRE by >5 log10CFU/cm2. Pathogen concentration did not significantly impact the killing efficacy of the devices. However, both a light and heavy organic load had a significant negative impacted on the killing efficacy of the devices. Additionally, increasing the distance to 10 feet from the devices reduced the killing efficacy to ≤3 log10CFU/cm2 for MRSA and VRE and <2 log10CFU/cm2 for C.difficile spores. Delivery of reduced timed doses of irradiation particularly impacted the ability of the devices to kill C. difficile spores. MRSA and VRE were reduced by >3 log10CFU/cm2 after only 10 minutes of irradiation, while C. difficile spores required 40 minutes of irradiation to achieve a similar reduction.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The UV-C devices were equally effective for killing C. difficile spores, MRSA, and VRE. While neither device would be recommended as a stand-alone disinfection procedure, either device would be a useful adjunctive measure to routine cleaning in healthcare facilities.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107444 |
| spellingShingle | Michelle M Nerandzic Christopher W Fisher Curtis J Donskey Sorting through the wealth of options: comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems. PLoS ONE |
| title | Sorting through the wealth of options: comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems. |
| title_full | Sorting through the wealth of options: comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems. |
| title_fullStr | Sorting through the wealth of options: comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sorting through the wealth of options: comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems. |
| title_short | Sorting through the wealth of options: comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems. |
| title_sort | sorting through the wealth of options comparative evaluation of two ultraviolet disinfection systems |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107444 |
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