The short answer is, “Yes, UV-C light manufacturers claim their units can disinfect curtains in place rather than laundering them.” However, UV-C naturally is more expensive and less effective than laundering and takes 10X longer to sanitize (not disinfect nor clean) cloth privacy curtains.
The cost of owning, maintaining, and utilizing a single UV-C light could be as high as $400,000 over a 5-year period. Larger hospitals would have to own 6-10 units to ensure availability when patient throughput is essential.
Smolle, et al. (2018) tested the ability of an automated ultraviolet-C (UV-C) room disinfection device to decontaminate textiles inoculated with Enterococcus faecium in a clinical setting. Contaminated polycotton (50/50 polyester/cotton) swatches were distributed to predefined locations in a wardroom and exposed to UV-C light. UV-C decontamination reduced E. faecium counts by a mean log10 reduction factor of 1.37. The median time required for decontamination was 111 minutes (range 108-165), and UV-C decontamination reduced the bacterial count, on average to 99.137 (log 1 reduction) which is, by definition, sanitization. The CDC definition of “disinfected” is a log10 reduction of 99.9999%.
Conventional laundering (60°C/140°F) on the other hand reduces E. faecium counts in polycotton healthcare textiles by 3-4 log10 ranks, while additional tumble drying, or ironing is still required for complete eradication. For terminal decontamination, UV-C light is clearly less effective, although a consistent and significant reduction of bacteria can be achieved given enough time and proximity.
Possibly one of the main limitations of the device used is the fact that it is not possible to enter the room during the decontamination process due to the potentially dangerous amount of UV-C radiation. These lights can only be used in unoccupied spaces and operators will have to ensure that the curtain is pulled open, treating one side, and then entering the room to reposition the device so as to allow the back-side to be treated.
In conclusion, UV-C decontamination appears less efficient than laundering but may be a feasible adjunct to preserve the microbiological safety of healthcare textiles in place. It is important to note that UV-C decontamination does not only work on smooth surfaces in a clinical setting but also on fabrics, albeit to a lesser extent.”
3 Things to Consider Before Utilizing UV-C to Decontaminate Curtains
- UV-C is not for daily decontamination of patient rooms. Instead, it is for use during terminal cleans only. The room must be clear of all occupants.
- UV-C does not replace a hospital protocol on laundering curtains. The disinfection device does not remove dust or visible soil (i.e., blood, body fluids, feces, etc.)
- Substantial capital equipment and routine maintenance costs for UV-C.
The use of UV-C devices will delay turn-over time in a room vacated by a patient with C-diff. First, an Environmental Services worker must thoroughly clean the room and restroom before UV-C light is brought into the room. Soil (both visible and invisible) can hinder the effectiveness of a UV-C disinfection device. When the room is clean, it takes from 60-90 minutes for a complete cycle that will eliminate spores in the restroom and the unoccupied patient area.
Always remember that the privacy curtain will require an additional 111 minutes. At the end of the 60–90-minute cycle plus the 111-minute cycle, the EVS worker must return to make the bed and prepare the space for the next patient. The whole process from beginning to end could take as much as 4 hours or longer before the next patient can be admitted to the space in case the privacy curtain is included in the decontamination (with both sides of the curtain treated).
