Research Shows Effectiveness of Antibacterial LEDs
Research indicates visible-light continuous environmental disinfection (CED) can be effective in combatting microbial surface contamination and surgical site infections (SSIs).1
Investigators studied samples from 25 surfaces within two contiguous ORs sharing an air supply. The samples were obtained after manual cleaning on multiple days before and after a visible-light CED system installation in one OR.
SSIs were tracked in both ORs and a third OR at a distant site for one year prior to and one year after the implementation of the CED system. Researchers found an 81% reduction in total colony-forming units after the visible-light CED system installation in the OR, decreasing from 1.4% in the year prior to installation to 0.4% following installation. Also, there was a 49% reduction in the contiguous OR without the CED system.
“A visible-light CED system is a relatively novel disinfection technology that addresses some of the limitations posed by other supplemental no-touch environmental disinfection strategies in the OR, namely episodic disinfection, staffing, and lack of uniform disinfection,” the researchers wrote.1 “This study demonstrates that a visible-light CED system provides enhanced environmental disinfection beyond standard manual cleaning and that this optimized disinfection resulted in a significant reduction in SSIs for procedures performed in the visible-light CED system OR.”
In other research, the New York State Department of Health Wadsworth Biodefense Laboratory studied 405 nm visible light for Vital Vio in Troy, NY. The company reports the CED system was successful in reducing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, and Clostridioides difficile in liquid cultures. The unpublished study exposed the bacteria and spores to a range of intensities and durations, finding a 99% reduction compared to the control in the spores tested, and near-total reduction in the bacteria tested, according to the company.
REFERENCE
- Murrell LJ, Hamilton EK, Johnson HB, Spencer M. Influence of a visible-light continuous environmental disinfection system on microbial contamination and surgical site infections in an orthopedic operating room. Am J Infect Control 2019;47:804-810.
Research indicates visible-light continuous environmental disinfection can be effective in combatting microbial surface contamination and surgical site infections.
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