Evaluating the utility of UV lamps to mitigate the spread of pathogens in the ICU

Abstract

Contaminated surfaces in a hospital serve as reservoirs for pathogen spread. The aim of this study was to evaluate UV lights in preventing the spread of a DNA tracer in an intensive care unit (ICU) through sterilization of highly touched surfaces. In a prospective trial, a non-pathogenic DNA virus was inoculated onto surfaces in an ICU patient room. Investigators swabbed frequently touched surfaces in non-inoculated ICU rooms at 24, 48, and 96 h post inoculation. Culture specimens were analyzed for the presence of viral DNA via PCR. After baseline data were obtained, UV lights were deployed in a standardized fashion onto vitals monitors, ventilators, keyboards, and intravenous (IV) pumps. Inoculation and culturing were then repeated. Prior to UV implementation, the DNA tracer disseminated to 10.10% of tested surfaces in non-inoculated rooms at 48 h. Post UV light deployment, only 1.20% of surfaces tested positive for the DNA tracer after 48 h. UV decontamination significantly retarded the spread of the virus DNA, with a relative reduction of 90% at 48 h from 10.10% of surfaces pre UV to 1.20% of surfaces post UV (p < 0.0001). UV decontamination holds the potential to confer protection to patients by reducing the number of surfaces that can serve as a nidus for transfer.