Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32599097›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of infection control2021

An evaluation of cleaning practices at a teaching hospital.

Julien Meyer, Pria Nippak, Aisling Cumming

Erratum issuedAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of infection control, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Observational
  4. Article
  5. Comparative analysis of routine clinical debriefings and incident reports: insights for patient safety and teamwork enhancement.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Observational
  8. Phenotypic Variation in ClinicalMicroorganisms · 2023
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Julien MeyerSchool of Health Services Management, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Pria NippakSchool of Health Services Management, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Aisling CummingSchool of Health Services Management, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address: aisling.cumming@ryerson.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the role of hospital-acquired infections in spreading epidemics. Adequately cleaning surfaces in patient rooms is an essential part of this fight to reduce the spread. Traditional audits, however, are insufficient. This study assesses surface cleaning practices using ultravoilet (UV) marker technology and the extent to which this technology can help improve cleaning audits and practices.

methodsOne hundred and forty-four audits (1,235 surfaces) were retrieved. UV-marker cleaning audits conducted at a major teaching hospital in 2018 after implementing a new cleaning protocol. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with cleaning staff and supervisors.

resultsOn average, 63% of surfaces were appropriately cleaned. Toilet handles (80%) and toilet seats underside (83%) scored highest while main room sink fixtures (54%), light switch (55%), and bedrails (56%) scored lowest. Training, staffing and time constraints may play a role in low cleaning rates. DISCUSSION: The high-touch patient surfaces in the bedroom remain neglected and a potential source of infections. UV marker audits provided an objective measure of cleaning practices that managers and staff were unaware of.

conclusionsUV-markers audits can play a key role in revealing deficiencies in cleaning practices and help in raising awareness of these deficiencies and improving cleaning practices.

Indexed as

Patients' RoomsBathroom EquipmentBedsCOVID-19Cross InfectionDisinfectionEquipment ContaminationHospitals, TeachingHospital UnitsHousekeeping, HospitalHumansInfection ControlPersonnel, HospitalSARS-CoV-2Time FactorsUltraviolet RaysAuditCOVID-19Environmental cleaningInfection controlPatient roomSurface cleaningUV marker

Identifiers

PMID32599097
PMCPMC7318966

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.