Bioquell’s hydrogen peroxide vapour technology in the spotlight at IPS

Published: 16-Oct-2012

Oral paper and scientific posters highlight its effectiveness


The benefits of Bioquell’s hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV) technology were featured in a series of independent assessments at this year’s Infection Prevention Society (IPS) conference, held at the ICC Arena, Liverpool, from 1–3 October 2012.

One oral paper and three scientific posters were presented highlighting the effectiveness of Bioquell HPV technology in the healthcare setting. The oral paper, entitled ‘Is deep cleaning sufficient to decontaminate isolation rooms?’ detailed an assessment from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust into the use of HPV for the disinfection of rooms vacated by patients with pathogens. It found that C. difficile, MRSA and VRE were cultured from surfaces after deep cleaning (using Dificile-S) but not after HPV.

The other scientific posters included a study into the use HPV for disinfection of unused supply packaging, the introduction of a change in practice for management of environmental hygiene and a comparison of the safety of two hydrogen peroxide-based room decontamination systems.

The collaborative study between Johns Hopkins Hospital in the US and Bioquell into the use of HPV for the disinfection of unused supply packaging demonstrated that 9% of 100 sampled items were contaminated with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO); none of 100 paired items was contaminated after HPV.

A service improvement abstract from Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust examined the use of HPV for the disinfection of rooms vacated by patients with pathogens. It showed that since the introduction of HPV as one of the control measures, the rate of CDI fell from 68 per 10,000 occupied bed days (Q2 2011/12) to 37 per 10,000 occupied bed days (Q2 2012/13).

Finally, Scarborough and NE Yorkshire NHS Trust presented a paper on the evaluation of the safety of Bioquell HPV and Oxypharm Nocospray aerosolised hydrogen peroxide. The findings revealed that the Oxypharm Nocospray system could not be operated due to lack of remote control and leakage of hydrogen peroxide in excess of health and safety limits when the device was operated using the instructions of the manufacturer. The Bioquell HPV system was operated without incident and has since been adopted Trust-wide.

James Salkeld, Head of Healthcare at Bioquell, said: “It is good to see that Bioquell’s HPV technology continues to have significant scientific support in UK hospitals. It continues to reinforce the messages highlighted at last year’s conference that Bioquell technology should be an essential part of any hospital infection control and eradication programme.”

The IPS presentations coincided with the publishing of a briefing pack on Bioquell’s technology on the NHS website. This pack can be found at www.innovation.nhs.uk/pg/cv_blog/content/view/31728/network

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