SHEDDING LIGHT ON ULTRAVIOLET

Light has numerous applications in Today's Healthcare Environment Ranging From room air sanitizers to air duct disinfection to water treatment. Knowing how to utilize this old reliable technology is an important weapon in fighting disease transmission.

Ultraviolet air purification technology is undergoing resurgence not unlike our recent experiences with the comeback marshaled by numerous contagious diseases. Although we have had this technology available to us for 70 years it has been underutilized and under recognized as an efficient means of controlling airborne pathogens. With recent and increasing challenges from airborne pathogens, the use of ultraviolet light to kill bacteria, viruses, and mold will no doubt continue to rise. UV technology emerged in the hospital environment during the 1930's. Applications in the OR were well documented and monitored for many years, giving weight to the efficacy of this technology. Air purification and water treatment are the two underlying applications where UV is commonly used in healthcare settings.

Air purification challenges can be approached from at least two directions, one being room air sanitizers and the second being air duct disinfection. Air duct units destroy airborne microbes, including bacteria and viruses, in new or existing duct systems. These units can be added to existing duct systems or engineered into new building designs. Whether a retro-fit or a new building design, ultraviolet air purification can deliver either localized solutions for areas such as operating room suites or more centralized installations to address larger patient care areas. Most applications surprisingly are cost effective and bring new levels of air quality to your facility through proven technology.

The core of the UV air purification system uses germicidal lamps to protect patients and staff from harmful airborne contaminants. Kill rates of 98 percent can be achieved in hospital settings through professional installation combined with the selection of the proper unit capacity for your particular room size and application.Germicidal effectiveness is highly lethal to virus, bacteria and mold spores when the equipment is matched properly to the volume of air that is being purified.

Air duct installations present centralized and non-intrusive applications that are useful on their own or in conjunction with additional air circulation and filtration technologies. When used together these systems provide high-level protection solutions.

When air duct applications are not utilized, hospitals still can achieve the benefits of UV technology by utilizing room air sanitizers to solve air quality challenges in crowded or poorly ventilated patient or staff areas. Patient areas where communicable respiratory diseases are present is a setting where room air sanitizers can be applied to achieve desired results. At this point in their development, these units have achieved a level of physical compactness, which makes them suitable for a wide variety of applications.

Ultraviolet radiation has long played an important role in Operating Room infection control. The reservoir of air in an OR Suite or a treatment area is subject to a variety of influences that can degrade air quality. These range from factors such as the concentration of occupants in the area, the propulsive forces that can put organisms into the air, the frequency of air changes and recirculation, and even the degree of respiratory tract contamination of the participants in an OR Suite. These challenges can be met by bringing in air that is relatively free of bacteria, essentially washing the air in the room by mechanical and electrostatic filtration. Advances in hepa-air filtration should be considered as well and incorporated into your overall program. However, organisms still survive in the room after these measures are applied. UV technology solves these problems by its high kill rate for airborne pathogens. An effective installation will incorporate these various technologies into one overall solution for hospital operating rooms and patient isolation areas with especially dependable results.

Understanding how to utilize these technologies in conjunction with one another does not require anything more than an effective plan that is created by both your staff and air quality consultants. This can solve the particular issues that are unique to your facility treatment areas or operating room suites where these problems are most profound. The efficacy of ultraviolet light as an air purification strategy has been well established and extensively documented. Regardless, an effective infection control program to control airborne pathogens has to incorporate the very unique circumstances that occur in your own facility. An initial and ongoing analysis of air quality issues in your facility should be part of any plan. Every building and facility has unique air quality characteristics, and the factors influencing air quality can be highly volatile, making it an imperative to conduct a regular analysis. If you are faced with difficult conditions, such as over-crowded patient areas, limited isolation room capacity, usually high levels of noscomial and airborne pathogen transmission problems within your hospital, or a surrounding population of patients that may be higher risks for tuberculoses of other airborne transmission problems, then you should include these considerations in your overall plan.

A variety of air quality monitoring devices are now available and these devices should be a part of any system. Establishing a practice for monitoring and updating your air quality analysis is essential to understanding and using the air purification measures you install.

Ultraviolet technology should be considered as part of your solution for achieving air quality goals. It is a proven technology, it delivers a very high kill rate, the equipment is compact and easily adaptable and the technology is very cost effective.


(article reprinted from Managing Infection Control)