Hygiene in hospital

Hospital hygiene with ATP Luminometer

According to official sources, around 600,000 patients suffer a nosocomial infection every year. Poor hygiene in outpatient and inpatient settings is considered the main cause for the spread of germs. Appropriate preventive measures and a hygiene concept adapted to HACCP are necessary to counteract the increased risk to patients.

In addition to the main aspect of cleanliness, hygiene in hospitals has the task of raising awareness of aspects such as hand hygiene or the Infection Protection Act. This requires all areas of hospitals to put processes to the test and to carry out regular checks on their implementation.

Those responsible for hospital hygiene must make sufficient time, personnel, and material resources available for this purpose. HyServe supports its customers in this with highly sensitive rapid tests for hospital hygiene monitoring and cleanliness testing of surfaces, food, and water.

Infection Prevention in Hospitals

Due to the continuously rising numbers of nosocomial infections in recent years, hospital hygiene is increasingly becoming a focus of public interest. The rising number of these nosocomial infections and deaths may also be due to the lack of awareness of hygiene on the part of employees, patients, and relatives.

To counteract the rising numbers of infections and the spread of hospital germs, it is essential that the measures described in the Infection Protection Act and the Hygiene Ordinance are strictly implemented. Close-meshed ATP measurements to monitor the effectiveness of surface disinfection are an effective and recognized method of improving general hygiene in hospitals.

Potential infection sites in hospitals are not only found in the sensitive surgery area but also generally in the environment close to the patient. The specifications of the hygiene plan must be strictly adhered to and checked through ATP residue determination. This requires an organized structure that ensures effective surface disinfection by performing checks and providing evidence.

  • For the individual hospital hygiene plan
  • Patented A3 technology for the detection of ATP+ADP+AMP
  • Indicator of cleaning quality in daily hospital routine
  • Software tool for convenient documentation of hygiene measurements and corrective actions over time

ATP Residue Determination with HyServe

The primary use of the HyServe ATP Lumitester is objective validation and control of cleanliness. The handy instrument is used to measure the contamination level of surfaces and the technique for doing so is based on adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence. ATP is a universal energy carrier found in all organic material and is thus present in most food waste, bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.

The HyServe Lumitester Smart measures the intensity of light emitted from the sample, with intensity proportional to the ATP present. The display is in Relative Light Units, RLU. However, ATP can also be degraded in cells to its derivatives adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP), making pure ATP-detecting tests unreliable. HyServe’s ATP assays, therefore, use patented A3 technology, which detects ATP+ADP+AMP, simultaneously. This provides a more comprehensive picture of organic residues and the cleanliness of a surface after cleaning.

Due to its test results being available within 10 seconds, HyServe’s ATP Lumitester allows immediate corrective action to be taken when necessary. The affected surfaces can then be re-cleaned, ensuring virtually seamless hygiene control.

Tolerance Limits RLU

It is important to individually adjust the respective limit values, as these can differ depending on the surface and the requirements. For example, surgical instruments have a tolerance limit of zero, while the tolerance limit for a staircase railing may be higher.

Solutions from HyServe are:

Lumitester Smart

LuciPac A3 Surface

LuciPac Pen

LuciPac A3 Water

FAQs

  • 1) How can the hygiene status be checked with the ATP test?

    With ATP detection, the cleaning quality can be assessed within seconds in the smear process. The measured values provide information about the contamination of a surface, and the knowledge gained from this is used in the evaluation of the hygiene status.

  • 2) What are high-touch surfaces?

    High-touch surfaces include toilet lids and seats, sink buttons, faucets, door handles, light switches, controls on soap dispensers or towel dispensers, grab bars, handrails, elevator controls, and many other surfaces that are exposed to frequent touch. These should be cleaned at least once a day.

  • 3) What is ADP and AMP?

    ADP, adenosine diphosphate, and AMP, adenosine monophosphate, are lower-energy derivatives of ATP. In the natural energy cycle of cells, these molecules are in a constant cycle between high-energy and low-energy states. Heated foods or stressed bacteria that reduce their energy balance are characterized by low levels of ATP and thus increased levels of ADP/ AMP. If these bacteria are no longer stressed and metabolism is ramped up, ATP also increases again.

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