BACKGROUND Near-patient surfaces are recognized as a source for hospital-acquired infections. Such surfaces act as reservoirs for microbial contamination by which pathogens can be transmitted from colonized or infected patients to susceptible patients. Routine disinfection of surfaces only results in a temporal elimination of pathogens, and recontamination inevitably occurs shortly between disinfections. AIM A novel antimicrobial coating based on photodynamics was tested under laboratory conditions and subsequently in a field study in two hospitals under real-life conditions. METHODS Identical surfaces received a photodynamic or control coating. Bacterial counts [colony-forming units (cfu)/cm2) were assessed regularly for up to 6 months. FINDINGS The laboratory study revealed a mean reduction of several human pathogens of up to 4.0 ± 0.3 log10. The field study in near-patient environments demonstrated mean bacterial values of 6.1 ± 24.7 cfu/cm2 on all control coatings. Photodynamic coatings showed a significantly lower mean value of 1.9 ± 2.8 cfu/cm2 (P<0.001). When considering benchmarks of 2.5 cfu/cm2 or 5 cfu/cm2, the relative risk for high bacterial counts on surfaces was reduced by 48% (odds ratio 0.38, P<0.001) or 67% (odds ratio 0.27, P<0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION Photodynamic coatings provide a significant and lasting reduction of bacterial counts on near-patient surfaces, particularly for high bacterial loads, in addition to routine hygiene. The promising results of this proof-of-concept study highlight the need for further studies to determine how this novel technology is correlated with the frequency of hospital-acquired infections.

中文翻译：

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新型光动力涂层可减少患者附近表面上的生物负担，从而降低病原体继续传播的风险：两家医院的现场研究。

背景技术近患者表面被认为是医院获得性感染的来源。这种表面充当微生物污染的储存库，病原体可以通过这些储存库从定植或感染的患者传播到易感患者。常规的表面消毒只能暂时消除病原体，并且在两次消毒之间不久就不可避免地会发生再污染。目的在实验室条件下对一种基于光动力学的新型抗菌涂层进行了测试，随后在两家医院的真实条件下进行了现场研究。方法相同的表面接受光动力或控制涂层。定期评估细菌计数[菌落形成单位（cfu）/ cm2），最长6个月。结果实验室研究表明，几种人类病原体的平均减少量高达4.0±0.3 log10。在近患者环境中的现场研究表明，所有对照涂层的平均细菌值均为6.1±24.7 cfu / cm2。光动力涂层显示出明显较低的平均值，为1.9±2.8 cfu / cm2（P <0.001）。当考虑基准值为2.5 cfu / cm2或5 cfu / cm2时，表面高细菌计数的相对风险降低了48％（奇数比0.38，P <0.001）或67％（奇数比0.27，P <0.001），分别。结论光动力涂料除了可以保证常规卫生外，还可以显着且持久地减少患者近端表面的细菌数量，特别是对于高细菌含量的细菌。这一概念验证研究的有希望的结果突出表明，有必要进行进一步的研究以确定这种新技术如何与医院获得性感染的频率相关联。