Study Finds Surfacide UV-C Light Effective As An Adjunct To Infection Control In Pediatric Burn Hospital

A recent study at Shriners Hospitals for Children –  Cincinnati, one of only four freestanding hospitals in the country dedicated to the treatment of pediatric burns and specializing in plastic and reconstructive surgery, concluded that the Surfacide Helios UV-C ​Disinfection System is “an effective and integral component in reducing bacterial pathogens not killed by the EVS (manual) cleaning process alone.” The findings were published at the American Burn Association’s 49th Annual Meeting in Boston.

The authors discussed their findings from 234 cultures obtained from rooms and noted a 37 percent organism reduction from terminal cleaning alone. When the Surfacide UV-C Disinfection System was used in addition to the EVS terminal cleaning process, the authors reported a “total elimination of pathogens.”

“Surfacide’s Helios system incorporates three UV-C energy emitting towers in the patient environment to eradicate drug-resistant organisms, including superbugs such as C. Diff, MRSA, VRE, CRE and Acinetobacter,” said Gunner Lyslo, founder and CEO of Surfacide, LLC.  “The system has been shown in studies to significantly reduce the risk of HAIs and lower hospital infection rates.” 

The 10-to-20 minute Surfacide disinfection cycle is performed in an unoccupied room, after an environmental services cleaning professional has manually cleaned the area and wiped down surfaces. Treating the room with UV-C energy is an evidence-based disinfection modality disinfecting areas that were not completely cleaned manually.

Other competing systems use just one tower, which is a less effective approach. Single emitter systems, including pulsed xenon gas systems, cannot reach all high-touch surfaces in a single disinfection cycle. Surfacide’s multiple emitter approach disinfects an entire room in just one cycle, including the bathroom and other hard-to-reach areas more quickly and effectively. The Helios emitters are positioned closer to hard surfaces, thereby reducing UV-C disinfection time and improving overall efficacy.

Healthcare providers are turning to UV-C technology as a complement to traditional cleaning methods to combat healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). UV-C energy (at 254nm) is the peak germ-killing part of the ultraviolet spectrum.

According to the CDC, roughly one in every 20 hospitalized patients acquires an infection during the course of receiving treatment for another condition. HAIs create significant health risks and cost the healthcare industry billions of dollars each year. That toll has placed a high priority on innovative technologies such as UV-C disinfection.