Hospitals Shouldn't Get Stingy with Disinfectants, Says Study

Evan Sweeney, for HealthLeaders Media, February 23, 2010

Using disinfectants appropriately

Although Fleming acknowledges this was an experiment conducted in a laboratory with just one disinfectant, one strain, and one antibiotic, he says the effects of this experiment are very real for healthcare facilities.

"The message I'm trying to get out is a caution, and the caution is as follows: Do what it says on the bottle," says Fleming. "If it says take a capful and add it to a liter or 10 liters, do that because this has been tested."

Fleming recommends using the right concentration of disinfectant according to the manufacturers' instructions, leaving the disinfectant on the surface for the appropriate amount of time, and rotate disinfectants so you aren't continuously using the same solution.

"A lot of people, particularly in hospital environments, may have a budget to work on," Fleming says. "If you buy 300 bottles this month, maybe you can get down to 250 bottles next month, and you have a cost savings. There's only one way you're going to get down to 250 bottles, and that's either to reduce the frequency of your disinfection regime or dilute it down more, and that's what I'm pleading people not to do."

For more about this study, read "Are disinfectants further strengthening superbugs?" on OSHA Healthcare Advisor.

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Evan Sweeney is an editorial assistant at HCPro. He manages and writes for Briefings on Infection Control, a monthly newsletter directed at IC compliance. He also blogs for OSHA Healthcare Advisor, a resource center for infection control and safety professionals, and regularly contributes to Medical Environment Update and OSHA Watch, which focus on healthcare employee safety and health.

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