Effectiveness of hospital disinfection and experience learnt from 11 years of surveillance

Abstract

This survey was designed to assess the sanitation status of hospitals and the compliance of hospital staff to disinfection strategies within the past 11 years. A total of 199 provincial affiliated tertiary or secondary public hospitals from 2007 to 2017 were investigated and seven critical categories, namely indoor air, work surface, hand hygiene, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation intensity, use of disinfectants, sterilization of medical items, and effects of steam sterilizer, were monitored. The average qualified rates were (94.74±3.54)% (810/855), (97.25±1.65)% (1 876/1 929), (87.57±4.60)% (2 508/2 864), (95.00±4.50)% (1 196/1 259), and (98.76±1.14)% (1 599/1 619) for indoor air, work surface, hand hygiene, UV irradiation intensity, and sterilization of medical items, respectively. In terms of other categories, a few samples were not qualified: 3/1 575 for use of disinfectants and 1/243 for effects of steam sterilizer. The hospital disinfection monitoring and supervision program effectively improved the effectiveness of disinfection. Routine monitoring and supervision must be conducted to ensure a safe hospital treatment environment.