As part of Antibiotic Awareness Week from November 12-18, 2018, the University Hospital Basel (USB) is drawing attention to a new method for safely disinfecting patient rooms. Ultraviolet radiation (UVC) disinfection efficiently kills all surviving bacteria. While chemical scrub-wipe disinfection is usually sufficient to remove microorganisms from surfaces, it is not sufficient for multi-drug resistant bacteria. However, the process reaches its limits with multi-resistant bacteria because certain germs can survive.

The USB was therefore the first Swiss hospital to purchase a UVC disinfection device, and a second one has been ordered. The mobile device has been in active use throughout the USB for about a year and has proven its worth in practice. Studies have also shown the effectiveness of automated devices in eliminating multi-resistant bacteria. Compared to the previous disinfection with hydrogen peroxide, the UVC process is not only more cost-effective, but also significantly less time-consuming. Because disinfection takes only 10 to 40 minutes, a patient's room no longer has to be closed for several hours. For the USB, the UVC method represents a groundbreaking increase in efficiency.

Additional safety for patients

Before UVC irradiation, a scrub-wipe disinfection must always be carried out by specially trained cleaning personnel. Subsequently, the UVC unit is placed successively in three places in the room so that the radiation can reach all surfaces. Afterwards, the room can be used again immediately.

The reliable destruction of multi-resistant germs means additional safety for patients. They are protected from transmission, and epidemics can be largely prevented. This was recently demonstrated by the nationwide epidemic of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), which was quickly contained at the USB, not least thanks to the use of UVC disinfection. It is crucial to quickly identify and isolate carriers of multi-resistant germs. In this respect, the well-established collaboration between the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Hospital Hygiene and the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory has proven to be the key to success at the USB. UVC disinfection represents an important piece of the mosaic in the successful overall concept of the USB.

Wie akut das Problem der multiresistenten Bakterien ist, illustriert eine soeben in der Zeitschrift «The Lancet» publizierte Studie: In Europa wurden 2015 rund 670'000 Fälle von Infektionen mit multiresistenten Keimen gezählt, wovon 64 Prozent in einem Spital erworben wurden. Rund 33'000 Fälle verliefen ursächlich wegen der Infektion tödlich.