Highlights
- •Contamination of inanimate surfaces in the ICU can be a source of HAI-associated pathogens.
- •Selective isopropyl alcohol/organofunctional saline (ISO) solutions have been documented to reduce microbial contamination on inert high-touch inanimate surfaces.
- •A single application of a novel IOS resulted in persistent antimicrobial activity on inanimate ICU surfaces over a six-week study period.
Background
Cross-contamination from inanimate surfaces can play a significant role in intensive
care unit (ICU)-acquired colonization and infection. This study assessed an innovative
isopropyl alcohol/organofunctional silane solution (IOS) to reduce microbial contamination
on inert surfaces in a medical ICU.
Methods
Baseline adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence testing (ABT)-measurements (N = 200)
were obtained on designated inert ICU surfaces followed by IOS treatment. At 1 and
6 weeks, selective surfaces were randomized to either IOS-treated or nontreated controls
for comparison using ABT (N = 400) and RODAC colony counts (N = 400). An ABT value
of ≤45 relative light units (RLU) was designated as “clean,” whereas >45 was assessed
as “dirty.”
Results
Mean RLU baseline values ranged from 870.3 (computer keyboard) to 201.6 (bed table),
and 97.5% of surfaces were assessed as “dirty.” At 6 weeks, the mean RLU of surfaces
treated with IOS ranged from 31.7 (physician workstation) to 51.5 (telephone handpiece),
whereas values on comparative control surfaces were 717.3 and 643.7, respectively
(P < .001). Some 95.5% of RODAC cultures from IOS-treated sites at 6 weeks were negative,
whereas 90.5% of nontreated sites were culture-positive, yielding multiple isolates
including multidrug-resistant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
Conclusions
IOS-treated surfaces recorded significantly lower RLU and RODAC colony counts compared
with controls (P < .001). A single application of IOS resulted in a persistent antimicrobial activity
on inert ICU surfaces over the 6-week study interval.
Key Words
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: October 09, 2019
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
