OSE_1306_part2_Layout 1 6/3/13 3:41 PM Page 70
I N F E C T I O N
P R E V E N T I O N
you'll see that it only kills the vegetative forms. That changes everything — and really means nothing. See, the vegetative form resides in
the body. Frankly, you can never kill it. When it's outside the body, it
forms a spore.
3. Kill times, contact times and dry times
pretty much all mean the same thing.
Products receive their EPA approvals based on the amount of time an
organism comes in contact with the disinfectant. Therefore, it's important to comply with the required contact times on the labels of the product. Contact time refers to the amount of time a chemical disinfectant is
actively working on the surface you're trying to clean. If the disinfectant
dries before the required contact time, the disinfectant hasn't had adequate time to kill the surface organisms that the company claims it will.
In this case, you'll need to apply the product more than once to ensure
the disinfectant has had adequate time to work.
It's not uncommon for OR staff to confuse contact time with kill
time and dry time. The key question: What is the contact time that
this chemical must be on that surface in order to kill? And for the
clock to be ticking on contact time, the disinfectant must be wet,
something that isn't universally understood. Keep in mind that every
product has a different contact time. Perhaps we should refer to this
as wet contact time.
4. UV light technology is a gimmick.
UV light technology is garnering a lot of attention as another tool to
reduce the bioburden in the patient's environment and help prevent
healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). If you've been around long
enough, you remember when UV lights were used at the entrances to
operating rooms and other high-risk areas in hospital settings. This tech7 0
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J U N E 2013
