Reviewed by Sara Karaba, MD, PhD, MHS, Johns Hopkins University
Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of shared medical equipment significantly reduced hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Browne and colleagues performed a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial in an Australian hospital, with the intervention being additional training and dedicated time (3 hours per day) for cleaning staff to clean and disinfect shared medical equipment on 10 hospital wards. The authors observed larger proportions of cleaned equipment (24.3% vs 65.6%, p<0.0001). There were significant decreases in all HAIs (34.5% decrease, OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.45-0.80) and in bloodstream infections, pneumonias, UTIs, and SSIs (36.2% decrease, OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.42-0.86). This study supports cleaning shared medical equipment as an important intervention to interrupt fomite transmission in healthcare settings.
Reference:
Browne K, White NM, Russo PL, Cheng AC, Stewardson AJ, Matterson G, Tehan PE, Graham K, Amin M, Northcote M, Kiernan M, King J, Brain D, Mitchell BG. Investigating the effect of enhanced cleaning and disinfection of shared medical equipment on health-care-associated infections in Australia (CLEEN): a stepped-wedge, cluster randomised, controlled trial. Lancet Infect Dis. 2024 Dec;24(12):1347-1356. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00399-2. Epub 2024 Aug 13. PMID: 39151440.