Management of Candidozyma (Candida) auris using innovative ultraviolet disinfection technology in adult intensive care units of a tertiary-care hospital in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND

The growing incidence of antimicrobial-resistant Candidozyma (Candida) auris (C. auris) poses a major public health threat, especially because of its association with serious healthcare-related infections and high mortality rates. Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation is being viewed as a disinfection method because it has a rapid germicidal effect against a wide range of pathogens. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of UV-C disinfection in reducing environmental contamination with C. auris on high-touch surfaces and C. auris-related central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) among adult intensive care unit (ICU) populations.

METHODS

The design used was a before-and-after study, conducted from January 2023 to December 2024. The study was conducted in the adult ICU in a tertiary-care centre hospital in Saudi Arabia. Terminal cleaning was enhanced with the use of three-tower UV-C devices (Surfacide Helios®). Environmental sampling for C. auris was performed on frequently touched surfaces. In addition, the incidence of Candida-associated CLABSI was evaluated and compared between the periods before and after implementation of UV-C disinfection.

RESULTS

Colony-forming unit (cfu) counts exceeded >5 log10cfu per sample after manual cleaning and declined to <2 log10cfu per sample following UV-C disinfection. The mean difference in log-transformed cfu counts before and after UV-C exposure was 7.756 (standard deviation [SD]: 0.399, 95% Wald confidence interval [CI]: 7.696-7.817, t (169) = 253.147, P < 0.001). The incidence of C. auris-associated CLABSI decreased significantly after UV-C implementation (incidence rate ratio: 10.88, 95% CI: 1.40-84.25, P = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

UV-C is effective in further decreasing the burden of C. auris and controlling its spread in hospitals with high incidence rates.