Efficacy of Antimicrobial Dry Fog in Improving the Environmental Microbial Burden in an Inpatient Ward
<b>Background/Objectives:</b> In healthcare environments with high microbial loads, effective infection control measures are critical for reducing airborne and surface contamination. One of the novel modalities in the achievement of these goals is the use of antimicrobial mists, such as...
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Antibiotics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/13/12/1187 |
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| author | Yashar Jalali Andrea Kološová Karol Džupa Pavol Pavlovič Monika Jalali Peter Rácek Nikola Zicháčková Ján Kyselovič Adriana Vasiková Klaudia Glodová Juraj Payer |
| author_facet | Yashar Jalali Andrea Kološová Karol Džupa Pavol Pavlovič Monika Jalali Peter Rácek Nikola Zicháčková Ján Kyselovič Adriana Vasiková Klaudia Glodová Juraj Payer |
| author_sort | Yashar Jalali |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background/Objectives:</b> In healthcare environments with high microbial loads, effective infection control measures are critical for reducing airborne and surface contamination. One of the novel modalities in the achievement of these goals is the use of antimicrobial mists, such as droplets, in the form of dry fog. Although the usage of dry fog in the disinfection of contained healthcare microenvironments is well known, the effect of such a system in terms of a meaningful reduction in the microbial burden in an open inpatient ward is unclear. Our objective was to assess the impact of scheduled dry fogging on microbial reduction in such settings. <b>Methods:</b> We collected air and surface samples from rooms receiving daily, biweekly, or no fogging (controls) over six months, establishing the baseline contamination and evaluating the reduction trends in treated rooms. The “reduction effect” was measured by tracking microbial isolation trends before and after treatment, while the “degree of reduction” assessed differences across rooms with varied disinfection schedules. <b>Results:</b> The results indicate that scheduled dry fogging significantly reduced microbial loads in treated rooms, especially with daily disinfection (SE = 64.484, <i>p</i> = 0.002). The airborne contamination in treated rooms showed a strong downward trend over time (SE = 19.192, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Surface contamination remained challenging due to frequent recontamination; however, treated rooms exhibited a consistent reduction in microbial presence (SE = 2.002, <i>p</i> = 0.010), confirming dry fogging’s role as a valuable adjunct to routine cleaning. <b>Conclusions:</b> In conclusion, this study highlights that dry fogging effectively reduces microbial loads in open, high-traffic healthcare environments, supporting its use as part of a multimodal infection control strategy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-635d28a120de44fcb5d68ccbb9290e52 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2079-6382 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antibiotics |
| spelling | doaj-art-635d28a120de44fcb5d68ccbb9290e522024-12-27T14:06:18ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822024-12-011312118710.3390/antibiotics13121187Efficacy of Antimicrobial Dry Fog in Improving the Environmental Microbial Burden in an Inpatient WardYashar Jalali0Andrea Kološová1Karol Džupa2Pavol Pavlovič3Monika Jalali4Peter Rácek5Nikola Zicháčková6Ján Kyselovič7Adriana Vasiková8Klaudia Glodová9Juraj Payer10Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 5th Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Špitálska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia, and Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, SlovakiaDepartment of Hospital Hygiene and Epidemiology, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, SlovakiaDetectair Technologies s.r.o., Trojičné námestie 7, 821 06 Bratislava, SlovakiaDetectair Technologies s.r.o., Trojičné námestie 7, 821 06 Bratislava, SlovakiaFaculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 5th Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Špitálska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia, and Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, SlovakiaDepartment of Hospital Hygiene and Epidemiology, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, SlovakiaDepartment of Hospital Hygiene and Epidemiology, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, SlovakiaFaculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 5th Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Špitálska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia, and Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, SlovakiaFaculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 5th Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Špitálska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia, and Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, SlovakiaFaculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 5th Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Špitálska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia, and Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, SlovakiaFaculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 5th Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Bratislava, Ružinov, Špitálska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia, and Ružinovská 4810/6, 821 01 Bratislava, Slovakia<b>Background/Objectives:</b> In healthcare environments with high microbial loads, effective infection control measures are critical for reducing airborne and surface contamination. One of the novel modalities in the achievement of these goals is the use of antimicrobial mists, such as droplets, in the form of dry fog. Although the usage of dry fog in the disinfection of contained healthcare microenvironments is well known, the effect of such a system in terms of a meaningful reduction in the microbial burden in an open inpatient ward is unclear. Our objective was to assess the impact of scheduled dry fogging on microbial reduction in such settings. <b>Methods:</b> We collected air and surface samples from rooms receiving daily, biweekly, or no fogging (controls) over six months, establishing the baseline contamination and evaluating the reduction trends in treated rooms. The “reduction effect” was measured by tracking microbial isolation trends before and after treatment, while the “degree of reduction” assessed differences across rooms with varied disinfection schedules. <b>Results:</b> The results indicate that scheduled dry fogging significantly reduced microbial loads in treated rooms, especially with daily disinfection (SE = 64.484, <i>p</i> = 0.002). The airborne contamination in treated rooms showed a strong downward trend over time (SE = 19.192, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Surface contamination remained challenging due to frequent recontamination; however, treated rooms exhibited a consistent reduction in microbial presence (SE = 2.002, <i>p</i> = 0.010), confirming dry fogging’s role as a valuable adjunct to routine cleaning. <b>Conclusions:</b> In conclusion, this study highlights that dry fogging effectively reduces microbial loads in open, high-traffic healthcare environments, supporting its use as part of a multimodal infection control strategy.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/13/12/1187dry foghospital infection controlhospital environmental bacterial burdenhealth-associated infectionsmulti-drug-resistant bacteriaairborne infections |
| spellingShingle | Yashar Jalali Andrea Kološová Karol Džupa Pavol Pavlovič Monika Jalali Peter Rácek Nikola Zicháčková Ján Kyselovič Adriana Vasiková Klaudia Glodová Juraj Payer Efficacy of Antimicrobial Dry Fog in Improving the Environmental Microbial Burden in an Inpatient Ward Antibiotics dry fog hospital infection control hospital environmental bacterial burden health-associated infections multi-drug-resistant bacteria airborne infections |
| title | Efficacy of Antimicrobial Dry Fog in Improving the Environmental Microbial Burden in an Inpatient Ward |
| title_full | Efficacy of Antimicrobial Dry Fog in Improving the Environmental Microbial Burden in an Inpatient Ward |
| title_fullStr | Efficacy of Antimicrobial Dry Fog in Improving the Environmental Microbial Burden in an Inpatient Ward |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficacy of Antimicrobial Dry Fog in Improving the Environmental Microbial Burden in an Inpatient Ward |
| title_short | Efficacy of Antimicrobial Dry Fog in Improving the Environmental Microbial Burden in an Inpatient Ward |
| title_sort | efficacy of antimicrobial dry fog in improving the environmental microbial burden in an inpatient ward |
| topic | dry fog hospital infection control hospital environmental bacterial burden health-associated infections multi-drug-resistant bacteria airborne infections |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/13/12/1187 |
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