Pulsed xenon UV reduces SSIs, saves potentially $500k at community hospital

A study conducted at a community hospital found implementing nightly pulsed-xenon ultraviolet light disinfection and dedicated personnel for terminal cleaning helped reduce surgical site infections considerably. The initiative may have saved the hospital hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The study was conducted between April 2013 and December 2014 at a hospital with more than 200 beds and 13 operating rooms. Results were published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

During the intervention period of the study, staff continued to clean the OR between each patient case. However, the hospital also added a terminal cleaning process performed by a dedicated housekeeper, using pulsed xenon-UV disinfection. All exposed surfaces in the OR received pulsed xenon-UV disinfection, and all ORs were given this treatment on a nightly basis.

To test the efficacy of the intervention, the researchers examined the OR contamination risk using the wound classification assigned postoperatively. They focused their study on two classes of surgical wounds: class I (clean) and class II (clean-contaminated) procedures.

The study showed a reduction of 46 percent in SSI rates for class I procedures during the intervention period.

"The success of the integration of [pulsed xenon]-UV systems and dedicated staff into cleaning and disinfection protocols demonstrates there is a likely link between surface disinfection and SSI rates for class I procedures," concluded the study authors. "Using $20,785 as the average additional cost per infection, and a mortality rate of 3 percent for SSIs, this intervention may have saved $478,055 and [one patient] life."

 

 

More articles on SSIs:
Chlorhexidine skin prep beats iodine in SSI prevention study
Operative infection prevention practice bundle reduces SSIs, study finds
Research reveals link between SSI rates and preventive antibiotic choice

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