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SG-APSIC1091: Assessment of compliance to cleaning of computers by healthcare workers (HCWs) using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measurement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2023

Kyaw Zaw Linn
Affiliation:
National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Ong Chong Hui Clara
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Research and Training Office, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Sharifah Farhanah
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Research and Training Office, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Huan Xiaowei
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Research and Training Office, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Loo Liang Hui
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Research and Training Office, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Tan Hui Ru Danielle
Affiliation:
National Public Health & Epidemiology Unit, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Nur Hafizah Binte Hamed
Affiliation:
National Public Health & Epidemiology Unit, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Allie Yin Lim
Affiliation:
National Public Health & Epidemiology Unit, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Poon Chu Ying
Affiliation:
National Public Health & Epidemiology Unit, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Tang Ying Wei
Affiliation:
National Public Health & Epidemiology Unit, National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore
Kalisvar Marimuthu
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore

Abstract

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Objectives: HCWs are recommended to wipe the computers with alcohol wipes before clinical use. Compliance assessment by direct observation is resource intensive. We used ATP measurement as a surrogate to assess the compliance to preutilization cleaning of computers. Methods: We conducted a pilot study to determine the median relative light unit (RLU) value reflective of preutilization cleaning of the computers. We identified values of <250, 250–500, and >500 RLU to reflect cleaned, probably cleaned, and not cleaned computers, respectively. Subsequently, we conducted a cross-sectional study of the computers in the inpatient wards in Tan Tock Seng Hospital and National Centre for Infectious Diseases. Using 3M Clean-Trace ATP swabs, we tested 5 computers in each ward: 2 computers on wheels, 2 from the nursing station, and 1 at the patients’ room entrance. All analyses were conducted using STATA version 15 software. Results: Between October 4 and 10, 2021, we collected 219 samples from 219 computers. Among them, 44 (20.1%) were cleaned, 49 (22.4%) were probably cleaned, and 126 (57.5%) computers were not cleaned. Higher compliance to computer cleaning was observed in COVID-19 wards [85 ATP samples; cleaned, 37 (43.5%); probably cleaned, 26 (30.6%); not cleaned, 22 (25.9%)] compared with non–COVID-19 wards [134 ATP samples; cleaned, 7 (5.2%); probably cleaned, 23 (17.2%); not cleaned, 104 (77.6%)] (P < .01). No significant difference was observed in compliance with cleaning computers between the ICU [30 ATP samples; cleaned, 7 (23.3%); probably cleaned, 4 (13.3%); not cleaned, 19 (63.3%)] and general wards [189 ATP samples; cleaned, 37 (19.6%); probably cleaned, 45 (23.8%); not cleaned, 107 (56.6%)] (P = .47). Conclusions: ATP swab tests can be used as a surrogate marker to assess compliance to pre-utilization cleaning of computers. Enhanced awareness of environmental hygiene may explain the higher compliance to computer cleaning observed in COVID-19 wards.

Type
Environmental Hygiene
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America