One of the greatest infection risks to a patient entering healthcare facilities is coming in contact with a pathogen on a surface from a prior room occupant who was infected or colonized with a multi-drug resistant organism (MDRO). Environmental cleaning practice plays an important role in reducing microbial contamination in hospital surfaces and contributes to prevent Healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Until evidence-based cleaning processes and contamination are standardized, the importance of a clean environment is likely to remain speculative. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence testing is a useful tool to assess and measure environmental cleanliness on healthcare surfaces, even in environments with low microbial counts.
Learning Objectives:
Describe how ATP contamination monitoring can help standardize cleaning practices in the healthcare setting
Compare ATP contamination monitoring technology to other available methods of evaluating the effectiveness environmental cleaning
Explain the history of ATP contamination monitoring in terms of its application to reducing healthcare-acquired infections
