| Background: Evaluate if adding ultraviolet irradiation (UV-C) to conventional terminal isolation room cleaning methods reduces Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) compared to conventional hospital environmental cleaning methods alone.;Methods: CDI rates (hospital-acquired [HA] and community acquired [CA]), patient length of stay and room infection-free days were compared for a period of 12 months before and6 months after the implementation of UV-C disinfection in a tertiary hospital.;Results: 1121 CDI cases (including HA and CA cases) were studied. Compared to the pre-intervention period, the UV-C disinfection period saw an increase in both total monthly CDI cases (60 cases vs 66 cases) and community-acquired CDI cases (31 cases vs 38cases), but the average monthly hospital-acquired CDI cases decreased (29 cases vs 28 cases). Total CDI rates significantly increased by 21% (P 0.0001). However, the rate of hospital-acquired CDI did not change significantly (P = 0.13). The length of hospital stay for all HA and CA CDI cases decreased by 33% during the UV-C disinfection period (P < 0.0001). The median infection-free days in the room after CDI patient discharge during the pre-intervention periods and UV-C disinfection and were markedly different (74.5 days vs 24 days; P>0.001).;Conclusion: The data suggest that UV-C disinfection was beneficial in reducing HA CDI trends. A randomized controlled trial of UV-C disinfection use is needed to confirm the effect of UV-C disinfection on C. difficile transmission. |
