Hydrogen Peroxide “Vaporizes” Some Hospital Room Contaminants

Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) can persist in hospital rooms and on medical equipment despite cleaning and disinfection — and may then be transmitted to patients. One proposal for limiting MDRO contamination is to use automated room-disinfection systems, such as hydrogen peroxide vapor or ultraviolet radiation, in addition to standard cleaning. A new study, conducted for 18 months in selected wards at Johns Hopkins Hospital, focused on cleaning with hydrogen peroxide vapor for 1.5 to 3 hours after routine postdischarge room cleaning. Wards cleaned in that manner were compared with those cleaned in the usual way. The hydrogen peroxide decontamination services were provided by a company that sells those services. One of the authors works for the company.

The risk for acquiring any MDRO was 64% lower among patients admitted to rooms that had been further cleaned with hydrogen peroxide vapor than among patients admitted to traditionally cleaned rooms. Most of that difference was attributable to an 80% lower rate of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) acquisition; differences for other MDROs were not significant. Environmental contamination by MDROs was also significantly lower in the peroxide-cleaned rooms than in the standard rooms. No health or safety problems were associated with the hydrogen peroxide vapor.