The retrospective study analyzed the implementation of ultraviolet environmental disinfection following discharge cleaning at the 643-bed Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y. UV disinfection uses ultraviolet light to kill micro-organisms in the patients’ environment. The average time spent per UV environmental disinfection was 51 minutes.
The study found that the rate of healthcare-associated infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms and C. difficile was 20 percent lower during the 22 months when ultraviolet disinfection was used as compared to the 30-month period before UV disinfection was implemented. “This technology was feasible to use in our acute care setting and appeared to have a beneficial effect,” the study authors wrote.
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