Effectiveness of a combined UV-C and Ozone treatment in reducing Healthcare-Associated Infections in Hospital Facilities

• Published in: The Journal of hospital infection Vol. 139; pp. 207 - 216
• Main Authors: Sottani, Cristina, Barraza, Giorgio Favorido, Frigerio, Francesco, Corica, Giacomo, Robustelli della Cuna, Francesco Saverio, Cottica, Danilo, Grignani, Elena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2023
• Subjects: environmental hygiene; hospital setting; Hospital-acquired infections; ozone disinfection; UV-C air treatment; Hospital-acquired infections; hospital setting; ozone disinfection; environmental hygiene; UV-C air treatment; Hospital setting; Environmental hygiene; Ozone disinfection
• ISSN: 0195-6701; 1532-2939
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2023.06.029

Hospital-acquired infections pose an ongoing threat to patient safety due to the presence of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) and other pathogens such as Clostridioides difficile which are dependent on thorough and effective cleaning and disinfection by personnel. This study evaluates the influence of UV-C air treatment because the air in the room had been sanitized by UV-C and redirected into the room. Moreover, ozone was released into the room to treat actual surfaces in Low-Risk Areas such as hospital gyms, and High-Medium risk areas such as hospital rooms. To this aim, a portable device designed for treating the environment air was tested against nine bacterial strains including Aspergillus spp. and Clostridioides spp. The use of UV-C air treatment during daily operations and ozone treatment achieved at least a 2-log10 pathogen reduction except for Clostridioides spp. Effective prevention of Clostridioides difficile normally requires the use of combined approaches that include chemical compounds and disinfection agents whose toxicity can be harmful not only to patients but also to healthcare personnel. Thus, the proposed no-touch device may be evaluated in future research to assess the needed requirements for its possible and full implementation in hospitals.