A P R I L 2 0 1 5 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 5 7
Missed a spot?
Wheeling a germ-zapping robot into the OR before you wheel the patient in is
not an indictment against manual cleaning, but an admission that manually
applying a liquid disinfectant to the surface with a cloth, wipe or mop is far
from foolproof. The problem with manual cleaning is not the efficacy or the
agents used — it's about ensuring that adequate formulation, distribution and
contact time occurs repeatedly in a busy environment ... and that nothing gets
missed, especially with the rise of multi-drug-resistant organisms, says Ms.
Tonsager.
"We do our normal cleaning [before we use the robots], but we're all human,"
she says.
Studies have shown that manual cleaning disinfects only 48% of room sur-
faces, while UV disinfection can get rid of 99.99% of pathogens. Studies have
also shown that environmentally friendly UV light penetrates cell membranes of
superbugs, viruses and bacteria, preventing them from replicating or mutating.
"At certain wavelengths, UV light will break the molecular bonds in DNA, there-
by destroying the organism," William A. Rutala, PhD, MPH, and colleagues con-
clude in his 2010 research paper, "Room Decontamination with UV Radiation,"
published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
The thing is, with manual cleaning there's no way of knowing when you
missed a spot. "When you clean a room and look back, nothing is flashing
orange and saying 'YOU
MISSED THIS.' You don't know what you missed," says
Ms. Tonsager, who calls UV light disinfection "adjunctive."
Some superbugs such as Clostridium difficile are showing resistance to
chemical disinfectants, making them even more difficult to eliminate. Others,
like CRE, have developed a resistance to antibiotics, making them nearly
impossible to treat. When added to routine cleaning, UV light room disinfec-
tion systems let you destroy viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores in the
patient environment without contact or chemicals. UV light penetrates the cell
