Comparison of the effectiveness of automatic and manual plasma-treated hydrogen peroxide mist disinfection in various teaching hospital environments

Abstract

Background Automatic disinfection technologies have been developed to improve the reliability and thoroughness of hospital disinfection. However, it is not clear whether automated systems can achieve similar disinfection results to those obtained by well-trained professionals using manual methods. We evaluated the disinfection efficacies of automatic and manual plasma-treated hydrogen peroxide mist (PTHPM) systems in various hospital environments. Methods Disinfection was performed in 23 rooms in a teaching hospital, covering various hospital wards, outpatient departments, and emergency rooms. Overall, 459 surfaces were swabbed before and after disinfection. Only gram-positive bacteria were analyzed statistically owing to the low prevalence of gram-negative bacteria and molds. Results Before disinfection, the viability of gram-positive bacteria, based on colony-forming units, was highest in outpatient departments, followed by emergency rooms and hospital wards using both automatic and manual disinfection. Automatic PTHPM disinfection reduced the colony-forming units of gram-positive bacteria significantly in various environments. There were no significant differences in the effectiveness of automated and manual PTHPM disinfection. Conclusions Automated PTHPM disinfection can be as effective as manual PTHPM disinfection in eliminating microbial contamination in teaching hospital environments.