Mayo Clinic Study Reports 47% Reduction in C.diff Infection Rates Using Pulsed Xenon UV Room Disinfection

Clostridioides difficile (C.diff) is a serious and highly
contagious intestinal infection that can cause diarrhea, colitis and
even death. Even with the world’s most robust infection prevention
strategy and protocols, the Mayo Clinic wanted to further reduce its
patients’ risk for contracting C.diff and conducted a controlled
study to evaluate the effectiveness of Xenex
Disinfection Systems’ pulsed
xenon ultraviolet (UV) light room disinfection technology. The
study, published in the American
Journal of Infection Control, found that adding pulsed
xenon UV disinfection to the hospital’s disinfection efforts resulted in
a 47% reduction in C.diff infection rates on the intervention
units that has been sustained for two years. In addition, the facility
saw an increase in patient satisfaction scores for environmental
cleanliness and a 52% reduction in Vancomycin-resistant enterococci
(VRE) infection rates.

Based on the significant C.diff infection rate reductions in the
intervention units, the Mayo Clinic expanded pulsed xenon UV room
disinfection to 14 additional hospital units with high rates of C.diff
infection utilizing 12 robots. This wide-scale implementation resulted
in a facility-wide reduction in its Standardized Infection Rate (SIR)
from 0.774 to 0.571. SIR rates are used by the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) to calculate hospital reimbursement.

Many hospital patients, especially those on antibiotics, are susceptible
to C.diff, which can live for up to five months on surfaces in
the hospital. A person with C.diff may contaminate their hospital
room and bathroom, leaving C.diff spores on the walls, handles
and other high-touch surfaces. These spores can be easily transferred to
the next patient or healthcare worker in that room. For
this study, the Mayo Clinic deployed two Xenex
LightStrike™ Germ-Zapping Robots™ that utilize intense pulsed xenon UV
light to quickly destroy pathogens like C.diff and VRE that may
be lurking on high-touch surfaces in a room, such as bedrails, tray
tables and doorknobs. The robot is easy to use and does not
require warm-up or cool-down time, so it’s easily transported from room
to room.

In the controlled trial, the first of its kind using pulsed xenon UV
disinfection technology, three hospital units (two hematology and bone
marrow transplant units and one medical-surgical unit) were designated
for pulsed xenon UV intervention, and three units with similar patient
populations served as control units. Because of the high C.diff
infection rates, all patient rooms on the targeted units were cleaned
with bleach daily and at terminal cleaning. In addition to tracking C.diff
infection rates, hand hygiene, isolation compliance, and antimicrobial
usage were followed on all the units. The only difference in the
infection control programs between the controlled units and intervention
units was the addition of LightStrike pulsed xenon UV disinfection.
LightStrike robots were used after terminal cleaning in 85% of all
discharges on the targeted intervention units.

“The Mayo Clinic has a world class infection prevention program that is
extremely well-run and well monitored. Their success in reducing C.diff
rates is strong evidence that pulsed xenon UV room disinfection can be a
very effective tool in a hospital’s infection prevention bundle,” said
Dr. Mark Stibich, Chief Scientific Officer at Xenex. “This is very
exciting research for several reasons. First, the hospital achieved and
sustained lower C.diff rates. Second, hospitals may be confused
about the different kinds of UV technologies and their effectiveness,
especially after a previous study using mercury UV devices did not show
a reduction in C.diff infection rates. This data – and the story
of how the Mayo Clinic achieved success in a controlled trial –
demonstrates that Xenex’s pulsed xenon UV disinfection technology should
be added to the infection prevention bundle as standard of care to
enhance patient safety.”

About Xenex

Xenex's patented Full Spectrum^TM pulsed xenon UV room
disinfection system is used for the advanced disinfection of healthcare
facilities. Due to its speed and ease of use, the Xenex system has
proven to integrate smoothly into hospital cleaning operations. Xenex’s
mission is to save lives and reduce suffering by destroying the deadly
microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAIs). The
company is backed by well-known investors that include EW Healthcare
Partners, Piper Jaffray Merchant Services, Malin Corporation, Battery
Ventures, Tectonic Ventures, Targeted Technology Fund II and RK
Ventures. For more information, visit Xenex.com.

Citation: Sampathkumar P, Nation L, Folkert C, Wentink JE,
Zavelta, KW. A trial of pulsed xenon ultraviolet disinfection to reduce
C. difficile infection. American Journal of Infection Control.

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