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Compounding Disaster - July 2016 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

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field has since expanded to include ultraviolet light, aerosolized hydrogen peroxide, ozone and even cluster ion technologies (see "Your Options in Whole-Room Disinfection" on p. 60). If you're seek- ing to step up your facility's infection prevention efforts with whole- room disinfection, here's how to evaluate your options. • Microbiological efficacy. This is the best place to start your selection process. It can be difficult to compare technologies, since they work dif- ferently. We conducted our own validation studies while trialing manufac- turers' equipment. As an emergency response, our hydrogen peroxide trial had real-time stakes in terms of proving its effectiveness. Over the course of a year, we sought to decontaminate as many patient rooms and wards as possible, as quickly as possible, and we saw a major decrease in C. diff. rates. When ultraviolet light systems entered the market a few years later, though, we conducted another trial, examining the UV light's microbiologi- cal efficacy in 25 patient rooms over the course of a year. We cultured 5 high-touch sites (bed rail, over-bed table, TV remote, bathroom grab bar and toilet seat) in each room before and after UV treatment to determine its microbial reduction. We also inoculated small metal disks with consis- tent amounts of C. diff. spores and stationed them around the rooms (over-bed table, floor beneath bed, chair, toilet seat and shower floor) at different distances from the light source during treatment, to gauge results. Some rooms received a single cycle with the UV unit placed in the middle of the room, while others received 2 cycles, with the unit moved to the bathroom for the second round. • Cycle time. Some UV systems' cycles are only a few minutes long, short enough to fit between cases, but would the potential need for multi- ple cycles prove time- and labor-intensive? Would a more thorough treat- ment at day's end be worth a 3-hour running time? Also, how easy is the device to use? Could it be set up and operated by any nurse or house- 9 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 1 6

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