Comparison of Fluorescent Marker Systems with 2 Quantitative Methods of Assessing Terminal Cleaning Practices
- 1 December 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology
- Vol. 32 (12), 1187-1193
- https://doi.org/10.1086/662626
Abstract
Objective.: To compare fluorescent markers with aerobic colony counts (ACCs) and an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assay system for assessing terminal cleaning practices.Design.: A prospective observational survey.Setting.: A 500-bed university-affiliated community teaching hospital.Methods.: In a convenience sample of 100 hospital rooms, 5 high-touch surfaces were marked with fluorescent markers before terminal cleaning and checked after cleaning to see whether the marker had been entirely or partially removed. ACC and ATP readings were performed on the same surfaces before and after terminal cleaning.Results.: Overall, 378 (76%) of 500 surfaces were classified as having been cleaned according to fluorescent markers, compared with 384 (77%) according to ACC criteria and 225 (45%) according to ATP criteria. Of 382 surfaces classified as not clean according to ATP criteria before terminal cleaning, those with the marker removed were significantly more likely than those with the marker partially removed to be classified as clean according to ATP criteria (P = .003).Conclusions.: Fluorescent markers are useful in determining how frequently high-touch surfaces are wiped during terminal cleaning. However, contaminated surfaces classified as clean according to fluorescent marker criteria after terminal cleaning were significantly less likely to be classified as clean according to ACC and ATP assays.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Finding a benchmark for monitoring hospital cleanlinessJournal of Hospital Infection, 2011
- Variations in Hospital Daily Cleaning PracticesInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2010
- Is it really clean? An evaluation of the efficacy of four methods for determining hospital cleanlinessJournal of Hospital Infection, 2009
- Impact of an Environmental Cleaning Intervention on the Presence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci on Surfaces in Intensive Care Unit RoomsInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2008
- A modified ATP benchmark for evaluating the cleaning of some hospital environmental surfacesJournal of Hospital Infection, 2008
- Risk of Hand or Glove Contamination After Contact With Patients Colonized With Vancomycin-ResistantEnterococcusor the Colonized Patients' EnvironmentInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2008
- Identifying Opportunities to Enhance Environmental Cleaning in 23 Acute Care HospitalsInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2008
- Acquisition of Nosocomial Pathogens on Hands After Contact With Environmental Surfaces Near Hospitalized PatientsInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2004
- SHEA Guideline for Preventing Nosocomial Transmission of Multidrug-Resistant Strains ofStaphylococcus aureusandEnterococcusInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2003
- Assessment of cleaning and disinfection in the food industry with the rapid ATP-bioluminescence technique combined with the tissue fluid contamination test and a conventional microbiological methodInternational Journal of Food Microbiology, 1993