According to a recent study, when Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, N.Y., added ultraviolet environmental disinfection (UVD) to its cleaning regimen of patient rooms, it cut resistant organisms by 20 percent.

A report in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) showed that during a 22-month period in which UVD was used, the rate of hospital-associated multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) and C. difficile dropped compared with a 30-month period without UVD, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.

During the period of the study before UVD was implemented, the hospital used standard cleaning protocols such as bleach to disinfect MDRO-patient rooms upon discharge.

Studies on the impact of UVD as part of a patient room cleaning regimen mostly have covered the efficacy of killing bacteria on test plates in various locations in patient rooms, the article said. The study recently published in AJIC is among more distinctive research for focusing on patient outcomes related to UV technology.

Read the article.