Disinfecting noncritical medical equipment-Effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide dry mist as an adjunctive method

Manual disinfection of medical devices is prone to failure. Disinfection by aerosolized hydrogen peroxide might be a promising adjunctive method. We aimed to assess effectiveness of dry mist of hydrogen peroxide (HPDM) on noncritical medical equipment.

One cycle of HPDM was applied on a convenience sample of 16 different types of "ready to use" noncritical medical devices in a closed, but nonsealed room. Of every object, 2 adjacent areas with assumed similar bacterial burden were swabbed before and after HPDM deployment, respectively. After culturing, colony forming units (CFU) were counted, and bacterial burden per cm² calculated.

Of 160 objects included in the study, 36 (23%) showed a CFU-count of zero both before and after HPDM use. A decrease from a median of 0.14 CFU/cm² (range: 0.00-125.00/cm²) to a median of 0.00 CFU/cm² (range: 0.00-4.00/cm²) (P < .001) was observed. The bacterial burden was reduced by more than 90% in 45% (95% CI: 37-53) of objects. No pathogenic bacteria were identified.

HPDM reduced bacterial burden on noncritical medical items. Since cleanliness of the included "ready to use" objects was high and no pathogens were found before nebulization, the HPDM device did not increase patient safety in this setting.

HPDM nebulization can be a useful nonmanual adjunctive disinfection method in high-risk settings.