Washer disinfector and alkaline detergent efficacy against C. difficile on plastic bedpans

Clostridioides difficile is a major cause of infectious antibiotic resistant diarrhea. C. difficile spores are shed in patient stool, are hearty and difficult to kill. Bedpans are often used by patients with C. difficile infections and require proper handling and cleaning or disposal to prevent the transmission of C. difficile spores and other infectious microorganisms into the environment. Disposable bedpans are often used for convenience, which has consequences from an environmental sustainability perspective.

This study evaluates the ability for a washer-disinfector device (WD) to efficaciously clean and disinfect C. difficile spores and Escherichia coli from bedpans for sanitary reuse.

A commercially available WD device was evaluated for both efficacy and thermal disinfection against C. difficile spores and Escherichia coli using one disinfection cycle per test. Bedpans were not rinsed or dumped prior to placement in the WD. Bedpans were sampled using swabs. Microorganisms were eluted from the swabs and log-kill was calculated.

The average log-kill for C. difficile spores was 3.99 and >7.69 for E. coli. Thermal disinfection results showed an average log kill of 4.31 for C. difficile and >7.23 for E. coli.

The WD was efficacious against both C. difficile spores and E. coli when used according to manufacturer's instructions for use, suggesting a viable alternative to disposable bedpan waste management.