1220. Effective, Novel, Handheld, UV Technology for Surface Disinfection While Patients or Staff Are Nearby

BACKGROUND: The battle against nosocomial infections is ongoing, and the role the environment plays in these infections has been well established. Because only 50% of the items in a patient’s room are adequately cleaned at the time of discharge, many hospitals are turning to “no-touch” systems to supplement their manual cleaning and disinfection protocols. Lumagenics introduces a safe, novel, handheld, low heat-generating Cool UV™ technology that can be used on a daily basis, while the patient is in the room. METHODS: Templates were drawn on Formica surfaces and inoculated with known amounts of epidemiologically important pathogens (EIP’s) (i.e., MRSA, VRE, CRE Klebsiella pneumoniae, multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, and Clostridioides difficile spores). After drying, each surface was exposed to the Cool UV™ at varying times and distances. After exposure, each surface was cultured with a Rodac plate and incubated according to standard microbiological procedures. Following incubation, all growth was quantitated and log(10) reductions were calculated. RESULTS: Without an organic load, vegetative EIP’s were reduced by an average of 3.63–5.08 log(10) for 1 and 5 sec., respectively, at 1 inch and by an average of 2.10–4.08 log(10) for 1 and 5 sec., respectively, at 5 inches (Table 1). C. difficile spores were reduced an average of 1.84–3.18 log(10) in 10–60 secs from a distance of 1 inch, and an average of 1.21–2.58 log(10) at 5 inches (Table 2). With an organic load (10% fetal calf serum), the log(10) reduction for C. difficile spores was reduced ~0.94 log(10), but the reduction achieved for the vegetative EIP’s remained relatively unaffected. CONCLUSION: Lumagenics’ Cool UV(TM) technology, with short exposure times, reduced EIP’s by levels similar to “no touch” room disinfection UV devices and may be a useful adjunct to daily cleaning and chemical disinfection. [Image: see text] [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.