Treating empty patient rooms with ultraviolet C light disinfection can reduce the rate of Clostridium difficile in high-risk patients who will later occupy the rooms, according to an article on the Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality website.
A new study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology conducted the disinfection technique and monitored its impact on C. diff infection rates.
The study examined a one-year period across three hematology-oncology units at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
The study found UV light cuts C. diff by 25 percent. Rates increased by 16 percent in units outside of the study.
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