Highlights
- •Whole room terminal disinfection system.
- •Aerosolized hydrogen peroxide decreases infection rates at an acute care hospital.
- •Hospital infection rate decreases in Clostridioides difficile with a novel hydrogen peroxide system.
Abstract
Background
Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) cause significant morbidity and mortality in healthcare facilities
worldwide. We examined the use of an aerosolized hydrogen peroxide (aHP) disinfection
system for reduction of CDI rates.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective analysis of CDI rates at an acute care facility over
a 10-year period. The first 5-year period investigated the before and after implementation
of an aHP system followed by another 5-year period of continued use on CDI rates.
Results
The before and after period showed a reduction in CDI rates from 4.6 per 10,000 patient
days down to 2.7 per 10,000 patient days after implementation (P < .001). The second study period for the continued aHP use exhibited a consistent
decrease in CDI rates to 1.4 per 10,000 patient days at the end of the study.
Conclusions
The addition of a touchless aHP whole room disinfection system as part of terminal
cleaning resulted in a significant reduction in CDI rates that have been sustained
year after year.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 16, 2022
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: All authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
