Assessment of the effectiveness of ultraviolet-C disinfection on transmission of hospital-acquired pathogens from prior room occupants

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jacob C Hodges, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Andrew L Bilderback, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Christine M Bridge, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Suzanne Wagester, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Bonnie V Colaianne, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Ahmed Babiker, Emory University; Tami Minnier, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Rachel L Zapf, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Paula L Kip, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Graham M Snyder, UPMC Presbyterian Hospital
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-07-07
• Publisher: Emory University Libraries
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2022
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ash.2022.254
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Antimicrobial Stewardship and Healthcare Epidemiology
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: S17
• End Page: S26

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) disinfection as an adjunct to standard chlorine-based disinfectant terminal room cleaning in reducing transmission of hospital-acquired multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) from a prior room occupant. Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to compare rates of MDRO transmission by UV-C status from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2018. Setting: Acute-care, single-patient hospital rooms at 6 hospitals within an academic healthcare system in Pennsylvania. Methods: Transmission of hospital-acquired MDRO infection was assessed in patients subsequently assigned to a single-patient room of a source occupant with carriage of 1 or more MDROs on or during admission. Acquisition of 5 pathogens was compared between exposed patients in rooms with standard-of-care chlorine-based disinfectant terminal cleaning with or without adjunct UV-C disinfection. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the adjusted risk of pathogen transfer with adjunctive use of UV-C disinfection. Results: In total, 33,771 exposed patient admissions were evaluated; the source occupants carried 46,688 unique pathogens. Prior to the 33,771 patient admissions, 5,802 rooms (17.2%) were treated with adjunct UV-C disinfection. After adjustment for covariates, exposed patients in rooms treated with adjunct UV-C were at comparable risk of transfer of any pathogen (odds ratio, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.84-1.32; P =.64). Conclusion: Our analysis does not support the use of UV-C in addition to post-discharge cleaning with chlorine-based disinfectant to lower the risk of prior room occupant pathogen transfer.