Source avec lien : American Journal of Infection Control, (Prépublication), 11/7/2019. 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.09.009
De nombreux travailleurs de la santé utilisent des téléphones intelligents et des appareils portables sans qu’il y ait de normes de nettoyage obligatoires pour prévenir la propagation des bactéries aux patients. À notre connaissance, aucun essai réel n’a été effectué à ce jour pour examiner l’élimination bactérienne de ces dispositifs en milieu hospitalier. L’objectif principal était de déterminer si la longueur d’onde ultraviolette C (UV-C) était plus efficace pour éliminer les bactéries sur les smartphones et les dispositifs portables que les soins habituels.
Background
Many health care workers are using smartphones and wearable devices without an enforced cleaning standard to prevent the spread of bacteria to patients. To our knowledge, no real-world trials have been performed to date, examining bacterial elimination on these devices in a hospital setting. The primary objective was to determine if ultraviolet wavelength C (UV-C) was more effective at eliminating bacteria on smartphones and wearable devices when compared with usual care.
Methods
This prospective before-and-after study included clinicians who used smartphones or wearable devices during their daily clinical practice. Devices underwent two 30-second UV-C disinfection cycles, at the beginning and end of clinician shifts. Swabs were collected at predetermined intervals both prior to and following a UV-C disinfection cycle to determine the extent of bacterial growth.
Results
Following a run-in period of twice-daily UV-C disinfection, 20% of devices grew pathogenic bacteria prior to UV-C use. Comparatively, only 4% of devices grew bacteria post-UV-C; therefore, the decrease in bacterial growth was statistically significant (P = .002).
Conclusions
UV-C appears to be more effective at eliminating bacteria on smartphones and wearable devices when compared with usual care and is a useful disinfection device in a hospital setting. Further studies are needed to determine the interval at which UV-C should be used to prevent bacterial growth and spread.