Effectiveness of Ultraviolet Systems in the Disinfection of Hospital Rooms

Abstract

Introduction: Infection control procedures such as handwashing are of critical importance in addressing nosocomial infections; however, greater awareness of the hospital environment as a source of nosocomial pathogens has led to a renewed focus on hospital cleaning and disinfection. Ultraviolet light (UVC; wavelength, 200-280 nm) has a germicidal effect on microorganisms in water, on surfaces, and in the air, and it is used for disinfection both inside and outside hospitals. This review aimed at investigating the effect of UV on systems in the disinfection of hospital rooms.
Methods: The literature search results for CAT used the reference database, Ovid. Using the search terms (''laminar air'' OR ''laminar air flow'' OR ''laminar air-flow'' OR ''laminar airflow'' OR ultraclean OR ''Ultraviolet Rays''[Mesh] OR ''ultraviolet light'' OR ''uv rays'' OR ''uv light'') and (''Operating Rooms''[Mesh] OR ''General Surgery''[Mesh] OR ''operating room'' OR ''operating suite'' OR ''operative suite'' OR surgery OR surgical) were combined with (''Cross Infection'' ) and identified 48 articles. The abstracts of all papers were independently reviewed by the author (RPE). We identified two prospective randomized controlled trials. Each of these was reviewed and items were removed manually that did not pertain to any surgery in an inpatient hospital operating room. Only interventional studies were included in this review.
Results: Upper-room UVC systems do not require modification to ventilation systems, are low maintenance, and relatively easy to install. The use of upper-room UVC is also economical. In an actual room using upper-room UVC, the UVC fluence rate varies even within the upper room, and the time spent in the upper room varies from particle to particle. These data show that in a 'real world' test setup, upper-room UVC is highly effective for reducing the concentration of vaccinia virus aerosols.
Conclusions: It is really important first to check that the targeted micro-organisms absorb UVB and UVA at a rate sufficient for the selected PUVD system to perform the required work in order to justify the higher costs of disinfecting only with UVB and UVA light. Certainly, such higher costs of disinfection-sterilizing with UVB and UVC light alone are well justified for many medical-hospital and food applications, since alternative sterilization methods may not be compatible with the increasing demands of respective industries.