A Hospital Cleaning Intervention Decreased Hospital-Acquired VRE Infections

Numerous studies have shown that the hospital environment is contaminated with multiple pathogenic microorganisms, but whether enhancing environmental cleaning practices can prevent subsequent hospital-acquired infections is unclear.

Now, Australian investigators have conducted a pragmatic, multicenter, stepped-wedge, randomized trial (REACH) to determine if a multimodal cleaning intervention could reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired vancomycin-resistant enterococcal (VRE) infections, Clostridium difficle infections, and Staphylococcus aureus bacteremias. The intervention included daily cleaning of high-touch surfaces using a defined technique, more focused discharge cleaning, and monitoring of cleaning efficacy by assessing the remova…