1,721,154 research outputs found
Use of a fluorescent marker for assessing hospital cleanliness
No full textBackground: Hospital cleaning practices and methods for their assessment are important for healthcare-associated infections
prevention. Aims of the study were: i) to assess the daily cleaning procedures of different surfaces in hospital bathrooms with a
fluorescent marker, ii) to study correlations between results obtained by this method and microbial contamination.
Methods: We enrolled 44 bathrooms of six hospital wards (A, B and C medical; D, E and F surgical) in which we analysed
218 surfaces (basin, toilet seat, flush button, inside door handle, light switch and floor). We applied a UV-fluorescent marker
to these surfaces and the following day we assigned a score according how completely the marker had been removed. On the
floor of each bathroom we also placed Petri dishes to assess bacterial colony forming units (CFU). The Wilcoxon test was
used for comparisons between wards, Fisher’s exact test for removal scores comparisons between different objects, Spearman’s
coefficient for correlations between CFU score and marker removal score.
Results: Ward F proved to be less clean than wards A, B and E (p<0.05). Medical unitswere cleaner than surgical ones (p=0.0016).
Basins were cleaner than the other surfaces (p<0.05), toilet seats were dirtier than floors (p=0.048) and door handles (p=0.013).
CFU score and mark removal score did not seem to be correlated.
Conclusions: The UV marker proved to be a practical and effective method for checking cleaning procedures. An early
identification of inadequate cleaning practices allows the repetition of them until good hygiene standard are reached. UV
marker could replace visual inspection, in a multistep process later including quantitative methods
La qualità dell’assistenza infermieristica. Il ruolo del coordinatore nel promuoverla e gestirla
No full textL’errore nella medicina dei servizi, in particolare nel laboratorio di analisi e di anatomia patologica
No full text
Effectiveness of ATP bioluminescence to assess hospital cleaning: a review
Full text linkIntroduction. Contamination of hospital surfaces plays an important role in the transmission of several healthcare-associated microorganisms, therefore methods for evaluating hospital surfaces' cleaning gain particular importance. Among these, there are visual inspection, quantitative microbiology, fluorescent markers and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence. The latter seems to provide interesting features, detecting the presence of ATP on surface (as Relative Light Units, RLU), a proxy of organic matter and microbial contamination. Several studies have investigated the effectiveness of this technology; with this research, we aim to summarize the most significant results. Methods. A systematic review was conducted. The keywords (namely, "ATP", "bioluminescence", "hospital" and "surfaces") were searched in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus databases, in order to find relevant data, from January 2000 to October 2014. After the selection, we globally considered 27 articles. Results. Most of the studies were conducted in United Kingdom and in USA. Different threshold RLU benchmark values were identified by analyzed studies. Fourteen of these researches compared the ATP bioluminescence with microbiological methods, 11 identified a significant correlation between the two methods, although poor or not complete for 5. Discussion. ATP bioluminescence is not a standardized methodology: each tool has different benchmark values, not always clearly defined. At the moment, we can say that the technique could be used to assess, in real time, hospital surfaces where cleanliness is required, but not sterility
Effectiveness of ATP bioluminescence to assess hospital cleaning: a review
No full textBackground
Healthcare-associated infections represent a cause of patients
morbidity and mortality. Contamination of hospital surfaces
plays an important role in the transmission of several
healthcare-associated microorganisms. In this perspective
methods for evaluating hospital surfaces’ cleaning gain
importance. Traditionally, these include visual inspection
and quantitative microbiology; more recently fluorescent
markers and ATP bioluminescence have been introduced.
This latter seems to provide interesting perspectives, detecting
the presence of ATP on surface (as Relative Light Units, URL),
a proxy of organic matter and microbial contamination.
Several studies have investigated the effectiveness of this
technology in health care environment. The aim of this study
was to summarize the most significant results on the subject.
Methods
A literature review was conducted. The keywords: ‘‘ATP’’ AND
‘‘Bioluminescence’’ AND ‘‘Hospital’’ AND ‘‘Surfaces’’ were
searched in Pubmed and Scopus databases to find relevant data
from 2000 to March 2014. In Pubmed we found 17 studies, 3
of which were judged irrelevant and 1 was a review; so we
considered 13 studies. In Scopus we found 96 papers, 25 of
which were appropriated and already included in Pubmed.
Finally we considered 25 articles.
Results
11 studies were carried out in UK, 8 in the USA, 3 in Australia,
1 in Turkey, Japan and Italy. 12 studies (48 %) compared the
effectiveness of ATP bioluminescence to assess microbiological
contamination in hospital surfaces with aerobic colony count
(ACC), 11 evidenced a significant correlation between the two
methods, although poor for 5 studies. 20 studies indicated a
RLU benchmark value, discerning between clean and dirt
surfaces. This was 250 for 9 studies, 500 for 4, 100 for 3. One
paper considered 2 values 250 and 500 RLU and others 3 taken
as cutoff: 127, 45 and 300 RLU.
Conclusions
ATP bioluminescence is a not standardized methodology: each
tool has different benchmark values, not always defined. In
addition there is only a poor correlation between ACC and
RLU. The technique requires better accuracy, nevertheless,
with a proper calibration of each tool, it is useful in hospital
surfaces where is required cleanliness, but not sterility, for real-
time results.
Key messages
Prevention measures play a central role to avoid infections,
among them the evaluation of hospital surfaces’ cleaning
gain importance.
Visual assessment, quantitative microbiology and biolumi-
nescence can be use alternatively, depending on the
operating conditions (time, resources, surfaces, etc.)
Dispositivo per l’igienizzazione di strumenti medici
Full text linkLa presente invenzione si riferisce ad un dispositivo per l’igienizzazione di strumenti medici, in particolare di stetoscopi.
In particolare, la presente invenzione riguarda un dispositivo di igienizzazione o sterilizzazione (1) di uno stetoscopio (S) comprendente un involucro (2) che alloggia dei mezzi di igienizzazione o sterilizzazione (3, 3’, 3”), un’unità di comando e controllo (4) ed una batteria (5), detto dispositivo (1) comprendendo mezzi di aggancio allo stetoscopio (S) da igienizzare o sterilizzare, detti mezzi di aggancio essendo mezzi di aggancio magnetico o elettromagnetico (12), mezzi di aggancio meccanico (13) o una combinazione di essi, caratterizzato dal fatto che detto involucro (2) presenta verso l’esterno una rientranza che forma un cono (11) rovesciato, la cui base è aperta e sostanzialmente a livello della superficie esterna dell’involucro (2), detti mezzi di igienizzazione o sterilizzazione (3, 3’, 3”) essendo disposti in corrispondenza di detto cono (11).
(FIGURA 1A
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