Researchers from the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center conducted a prospective, randomized trial comparing regular cleaning protocols of housekeeping staff with daily disinfection of high-touch surfaces (i.e., bed rail and bedside tables, call button and phone, and toilet seat, and bathroom hand rail) in 34 C. difficile and 36 MRSA isolation rooms. The study also assessed hand contamination of physicians, nurses and research staff six to eight hours after disinfection procedures.
The researchers found significant reductions in the amount and frequency of pathogens on the hands of investigators and healthcare personnel caring for the patients in rooms with daily disinfection (6.4 percent with daily disinfection versus 30 percent with standard cleaning).
The research adds to a growing body of research that highlights the importance of environmental cleaning and disinfection as an important infection control strategy, study authors said.
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