Sequential enhanced cleaning eliminates multidrug-resistant organisms in general intensive care unit of a traditional Chinese medicine hospital

Purpose: Effective cleaning of surfaces within hospital wards is necessary to reduce pathogen transmission. We investigated the roles of sequential enhanced cleaning by culturing pathogens from high-touch surfaces in a general intensive care unit. Methods: A before-after controlled study was conducted during a 17-month period in the 25-bed general intensive care unit. The study comprised a baseline period (period 1) and 4 sequential tiered interventions: each patient zone was wiped with a single clean microfiber cloth daily (period 2), fluorescent markers and adenosine triphosphate assay were used to monitor and provide feedback on the effectiveness of cleaning (period 3), wiping a single patient zone with 3 clean microfiber cloths daily (period 4), and withdrawal of the feedback (period 5). Results: Compared with period 1, the cultures of multidrug-resistant organisms from high-touch surfaces were reduced by 41.0% (prevalence ratio [OR] = 0.59, P <.001), 70.8% (OR = 0.29, P <.001), 82.6% (OR = 0.17, P <.001), and 70.8% (OR = 0.29, P <.0001) in the subsequent sequential interventions, respectively. Conclusion: Adoption of fluorescent markers and adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence reduced environmental contamination. Use of 3 cleaning cloths for 1 patient zone was more effective compared with a single cloth. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.