Effect of visible-light CED on microbial contamination, SSIs

Editor's Note

A visible-light continuous environmental disinfection (CED) system, used with manual cleaning, resulted in a significant reduction in microbial surface contamination and surgical site infections (SSIs) in an orthopedic OR, in this study.

Samples were taken from 25 surfaces within two contiguous ORs sharing an air supply after manual cleaning on multiple days before and after a visible-light CED system was installed in one OR. SSIs in both ORs and a distant OR were tracked for 1 year before and after installation.

There was an 81% reduction in total colony-forming units in the OR in which the visible-light CED system was installed and a 49% reduction in the contiguous OR. In the OR with the visible-light CED system, SSIs decreased from 1.4% in the year before installation to 0.4% after installation.

The findings show that a visible-light CED system provides enhanced environmental disinfection beyond standard manual cleaning, and this optimized disinfection resulted in a significant reduction in SSIs for procedures performed in the OR with the system.