Assessment of dry-fogged hydrogen peroxide as an "untact" room disinfection automation system for rapid terminal decontamination of a single isolation room in a healthcare institution.

Background: This study evaluates the efficacy of dry-fogged hydrogen peroxide (dHP) as an "untact" room disinfection automation system (URDAS) for rapid terminal room decontamination.

Methods: This prospective study was conducted at a university-affiliated hospital in Korea. After patient discharge, dHP technology was used to decontaminate single rooms. Environmental cultures were collected from inanimate surfaces and room air before and after the decontamination process. Routine manual cleaning and disinfection were performed only after environmental sampling during terminal decontamination.

Results: After applying URDAS using dHP, culture positivity in the surface samples decreased from 20.5% (16/78) to 5.1% (4/78). Particularly, bed-removable tables and bedsheets used by patients often remain contaminated even after disinfection. Thirty-six species were isolated from the air cultures before disinfection, which decreased to 23 species after disinfection, representing a 36.1% reduction. The most frequently isolated pathogens after disinfection were S. aureus on fabric materials from surface samples and Aspergillus species from air samples.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that URDAS using dHP is an effective tool for disinfecting contaminated environmental surfaces and spaces in single isolation rooms with minimal risk of exposure to medical staff. However, further optimization is required to address the material- and pathogen-specific disinfection challenges.