Abstract
Background: Healthcare staff continue to utilize equipment that can travel from patient room to patient room without disinfection or cleaning between use. Additionally, nursing and housekeeping staff may not always communicate clearly regarding responsibilities for cleaning some of these items. The purpose of this study was to identify if a portable UV-C tent utilized with a UV-C device (Xenex® LightStrike™ Robot) can effectively disinfect high use equipment used within inpatient nursing units across a large military medical treatment facility.
Method: Healthcare equipment consisting of commodes, toilet seat risers, wheelchairs, vital sign machines, workstations on wheels, and bassinets were pre swabbed to determine colony forming units (CFUs). These items were then placed into the portable UV-C tent and a cycle completed. The tent is very easy to use requiring items to be placed in the tent, the tent zipped up and the UV-C machine started. After a 15-minute cycle items can be removed and additional items inserted and the process repeated. Following UV-C disinfection, a post swab was completed on each item to determine CFUs. Standard microbiology techniques were utilized to sample, plate, and count CFUs from these sampled items. A variety paired t-test was conducted to identify if a significant change in the number of CFUs occurred.
Findings: Samples (n=66) of commodes, toilet seat risers, wheelchairs, vital sign machines, workstations on wheels, and bassinets had a significant reduction in contamination (17.08 CFUs vs 0.45 CFUs, P<0.05) following UV-C treatment. This near elimination of CFUs highlights the effectiveness of UV-C to disinfect high touch surfaces. Nurses found the process easy to implement and felt it could be feasible for the night shift work personnel to perform when the equipment is available.
Implications for Nursing: It is important that nurses take steps to break the chain of infection while providing patient care. It is critical that high use items that travel across units are frequently cleaned and disinfected. Policies regarding infection control need to focus on these high touch items and include methods such as the UV-C tent utilized in this study to ensure these items are disinfected reducing the risk of healthcare associated infections.
Notes
References: Boyce, J. M. (2016). Modern technologies for improving cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in hospitals. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control, 5, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-016-0111-x
Kitagawa, H., Mori, M., Kashiyama, S., Sasabe, Y., Ukon, K., Shimokawa, N., Shime, N., & Ohge, H. (2020). Effect of pulsed xenon ultraviolet disinfection on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contamination of high-touch surfaces in a Japanese hospital. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(2), 139–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2019.08.033
Resendiz, M., Blanchard, D., & West, G. F. (2023). A systematic review of the germicidal effectiveness of ultraviolet disinfection across high-touch surfaces in the immediate patient environment. Journal of Infection Prevention, 24(4), 166–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/17571774231159388
Rudhart, S. A., Günther, F., Dapper, L., Stuck, B. A., & Hoch, S. (2022). UV-C Light-Based Surface Disinfection: Analysis of Its Virucidal Efficacy Using a Bacteriophage Model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 3246. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063246
Villacís, J. E., Lopez, M., Passey, D., Santillán, M. H., Verdezoto, G., Trujillo, F., Paredes, G., Alarcón, C., Horvath, R., & Stibich, M. (2019). Efficacy of pulsed-xenon ultraviolet light for disinfection of high-touch surfaces in an Ecuadorian hospital. BMC Infectious Diseases, 19(1), 575. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-019-4200-3
Sigma Membership
Psi at-Large
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Implementation Science, Policy and Advocacy, Testing Strategies Healthcare Equipment, Disinfection
Recommended Citation
West, Gordon, "A Validation Experiment: Utilizing Ultraviolet Light to Disinfect High Use Nursing Equipment" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 3.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/posters_2025/3
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
A Validation Experiment: Utilizing Ultraviolet Light to Disinfect High Use Nursing Equipment
Seattle, Washington, USA
Background: Healthcare staff continue to utilize equipment that can travel from patient room to patient room without disinfection or cleaning between use. Additionally, nursing and housekeeping staff may not always communicate clearly regarding responsibilities for cleaning some of these items. The purpose of this study was to identify if a portable UV-C tent utilized with a UV-C device (Xenex® LightStrike™ Robot) can effectively disinfect high use equipment used within inpatient nursing units across a large military medical treatment facility.
Method: Healthcare equipment consisting of commodes, toilet seat risers, wheelchairs, vital sign machines, workstations on wheels, and bassinets were pre swabbed to determine colony forming units (CFUs). These items were then placed into the portable UV-C tent and a cycle completed. The tent is very easy to use requiring items to be placed in the tent, the tent zipped up and the UV-C machine started. After a 15-minute cycle items can be removed and additional items inserted and the process repeated. Following UV-C disinfection, a post swab was completed on each item to determine CFUs. Standard microbiology techniques were utilized to sample, plate, and count CFUs from these sampled items. A variety paired t-test was conducted to identify if a significant change in the number of CFUs occurred.
Findings: Samples (n=66) of commodes, toilet seat risers, wheelchairs, vital sign machines, workstations on wheels, and bassinets had a significant reduction in contamination (17.08 CFUs vs 0.45 CFUs, P<0.05) following UV-C treatment. This near elimination of CFUs highlights the effectiveness of UV-C to disinfect high touch surfaces. Nurses found the process easy to implement and felt it could be feasible for the night shift work personnel to perform when the equipment is available.
Implications for Nursing: It is important that nurses take steps to break the chain of infection while providing patient care. It is critical that high use items that travel across units are frequently cleaned and disinfected. Policies regarding infection control need to focus on these high touch items and include methods such as the UV-C tent utilized in this study to ensure these items are disinfected reducing the risk of healthcare associated infections.
Description
Participants will be informed of the dangers of high-touch surfaces in relationship to healthcare-associated infections. Participants will see that UV-C is an effective intervention to disinfect high-touch surfaces. This information is critical to ensuring policies are in place to outline the procedures and individuals responsible for cleaning equipment that moves across nursing units.