Background: The healthcare environment is a potential source of microbial pathogens, which may promote infectious cross-transmission. Terminal automated cleaning methods such as hydrogen peroxide systems have proven to be more successful than manual techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an automated aerosolized hydrogen peroxide/silver cations dry-mist system. The goal was to prevent microbial transmission to patients in a clinical setting after two cases of sepsis caused by multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii had been diagnosed in a burn unit that relied on manual cleaning techniques.
Materials and methods: Samples were taken from room surfaces before and after the dry-mist system cycle, which was used to disinfect all burn unit rooms after patient discharge. The disinfection effectiveness was assessed using contact plate cultures, with microbial growth represented as the total number of colony forming units per square centimeter (CFUs/cm2).
Results: No positive cultures from surface samples were observed after the intervention with the dry-mist system. Specifically, no further Acinetobacter baumannii growth was detected.
Conclusions: Our results support the use of the hydrogen peroxide/silver cations dry-mist system as an adjunct to standard manual cleaning and disinfection protocols used in the healthcare environment because of its broad-spectrum and high antimicrobial activity. This system may be a valuable option to consider, particularly in the control of microbial outbreaks.
Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; burn unit disinfection; healthcare-associated infections.