Posts Tagged ‘VRE’
UV room disinfection system face-off
An important new US study has performed an epic head-to-head evaluation of 8 different UV-based room disinfection systems. Whilst there were some differences between the UVC-based systems, there was a stark difference between the efficacy of the 7 UVC systems and the one pulsed-xenon UV (PX-UV) system, with the PX-UV proving considerably less effective. UV systems are…
Read MoreThe risk of keyboard contamination
Computer keyboards are a potential contamination risk in the hospital setting. A new systematic review of the literature concludes that computer keyboards are frequently contaminated and that more studies are required to understand the risk they pose and effective and practical methods to prevent and reduce contamination. Computer equipment in hospital settings, such as keyboards, mice, and…
Read MoreReducing HCAI through improved training and education
A new randomised controlled intervention study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases by Professor Brett Mitchell and a group of Australia researchers reports that introducing an environmental cleaning bundle reduced the rate of HCAI. A new randomised controlled intervention study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases by Professor Brett Mitchell and a group of Australia researchers reports…
Read MoreA “halo” effect of chlorhexidine patient bathing: reduced environmental contamination
An Irish study has examined whether daily bathing of patients using chlorhexidine results in a “halo” effect, in reducing environmental contamination. The study found that contamination of surfaces with VRE and ESBL Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) in the near-patient environment was significantly lower when chlorhexidine bathing was in operation. The study was performed in a 12-bed mixed speciality…
Read MoreFurther evidence that UV room decontamination reduces transmission in hospitals
A study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases provides further evidence that UV room decontamination reduces transmission in hospitals. The multicentre cluster-randomised study showed that introducing UV room decontamination for selected patient rooms resulted in a hospital-wide reduction in C. difficile and VRE acquisition compared with standard methods of decontamination. This is a companion article to the BETR-D study that was…
Read MoreUV-C room disinfection reduces viral infection
There is now strong evidence that UV-C room disinfection reduces the transmission of key bacterial pathogens in hospitals, including MRSA, VRE, and perhaps to a lesser degree, C. difficile infection. A new study demonstrates that UV-C room disinfection using GAMA’s Violet UV-C room sanitiser also reduced viral infection. The study was performed is a fairly small 100 bed paediatric…
Read MoreVRE lurking in the ICU environment
An Irish study has identified an established VRE environmental reservoir in the ICU, outside of an outbreak setting. VRE was identified from the ICU environment on 30% of 289 sampling occasions, and a number of patient-environment clusters were identified through molecular typing. A keen focus on the contaminated environment is vital for effective prevention of VRE…
Read MoreWhat healthcare workers should know about environmental contamination
A useful summary of current evidence highlights what healthcare workers should know about environmental contamination in hospitals. Whilst the focus of the article in the ICU, the principles are the same for healthcare workers in other settings too. Bacteria contaminate the inanimate environment; this contributes to patient acquisition of pathogens; biofilms play an important but uncertain role;…
Read MoreMore evidence that chlorhexidine reduces MDRO colonisation in the ICU
A US before-after study evaluated the impact of introducing chlorhexidine daily bathing in an ICU setting. In line with other studies, the rate of acquisition of key hospital pathogens, including VRE, MRSA, and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria reduced in response to the introduction of chlorhexidine, and remained lower over time. The 8 month before-after study was performed in…
Read MoreGAMA Healthcare updates from Infection Prevention 2017
We all enjoyed Infection Prevention 2017 — and hope that you did too! Here’s a few scientific updates relating to our product range that were presented at the conference, published in the Journal of Infection Prevention: Please feel free to contact us if you’d like any more information about these updates.
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