New York University Langone Health (NYUL) is considered one of the top ten hospitals in the country with 539 locations throughout New York, New Jersey, and Florida. Commensurate with its reputation as a forward-thinking medical center devoted to patient safety, Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Phillips and his colleagues at NYU Langone conducted a study to confirm the efficacy of sporicidal disinfectants for controlling Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) and Candida aruis (C. auris).
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PurTabs NaDCC applied with microfiber cloth, mop and electrostatic sprayer was the most effective disinfectant method.
Three sporicidal chemical disinfectants were selected with minimal toxicity and surface damage profiles to determine efficacy for routine use in the healthcare setting: Electrolyzed water (EW), peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide (PAA/H2O2), and Sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC), EvaClean’s PurTabs disinfectant. The results of the study proved NaDCC was the best sporicidal disinfectant as it produced significantly lower colony counts compared to PAA/H2O2 and EW.
Over the course of an 18-month period, Dr. Phillips, along with environmental services (EVS) and building services teams worked closely with EvaClean, the infection prevention division of EarthSafe Chemical Alternatives, to implement the study at two NYUL hospitals with a total of 1082 beds.
“As a strategic partner, we put the onus on ourselves to help facilitate improvements across the board,” said Rich Prinz, Global Vice President of Sales at EvaClean. “Our PurExcellence Healthcare Program not only provides products but, customized protocols and continuous training as well.”
EvaClean’s relationship with NYUL originated long before the study when the hospital first launched its dry wipes program. From early on, EvaClean was actively involved with NYUL staff and over time, the relationship evolved into a true partnership with a singular mission of reducing hospital associated infections (HAIs).
Brian Spada, EvaClean Area Vice President Mid-Atlantic and Acute Care Lead said, “Dr. Phillips and the NYU Langone staff placed an extraordinary amount of trust in our team, which enabled us to be on the floor daily. In the last year, we observed a dramatic shift in hospital culture toward more interdepartmental transparency.”
A primary goal of NYU Langone study was to assess the adequacy of surface disinfection in reducing contamination. Three sporicidal chemical disinfectants were selected with minimal toxicity and surface damage profiles to determine efficacy for routine use in the healthcare setting: Electrolyzed water (EW), peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide (PAA/H2O2), and Sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC), EvaClean’s PurTabs disinfectant. After phase one of the study revealed NaDCC to be the most effective chemical, phase two compared application using a two-step process of microfiber cloths followed by electrostatic sprayer on all patient room surfaces versus cloth alone. In the paper, it states that electrostatic sprayers allow for touchless disinfection and could be more effective at targeting sites that are difficult to reach with the standard mop plus wipe method as it distributes positively charged particles uniformly over surfaces.