Background
This quantitative, comparative-descriptive study of inpatient units in a large military
medical center was designed to compare the effectiveness of compact ultraviolet (UV-C)
decontamination to standard chemical decontamination in reducing the microbial burden
on Vocera (San Jose, CA) communication devices and to characterize changes in staff
cleaning practices following UV-C device implementation.
Methods
Aerobic and anaerobic swabs were used to collect microbial samples from Vocera devices
(n = 60) before and after chemical decontamination (first sampling) and before and
after UV decontamination (second sampling). Cleaning behaviors were assessed by observation
and oral inquiry during the baseline sampling and surveyed 8 weeks after UV-C device
implementation. Outcomes included aerobic and anaerobic colony-forming units and prevalence
of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, or Clostridium difficile, as determined by standard microbiological methods.
Results
No differences were found between the two cleaning methods in their ability to reduce
aerobic bacteria; however, UV-C was significantly more effective at reducing bacteria
grown anaerobically (P < .01). This study elucidated an 8.3% prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on Vocera devices in the inpatient environment. Initially, 42% of respondents reported
deviations from manufacturer's cleaning guidelines, and 16.7% reported daily or more
frequent cleaning of the Vocera devices.
Conclusions
After implementation, UV-C decontamination reduced average cleaning time by 43% and
increased the rate of daily Vocera cleaning to 86.5%. Respondents reported an overall
98% user satisfaction with the UV-C device.
Key Words
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: April 13, 2019
Footnotes
Funding/support: We thank the Army Advanced Medical Technology Initiative, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, for funding this research study. The views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or US Government.
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.
