Biocidal Hard and Soft Surfaces Containing Copper Oxide Particles for the Reduction of Healthcare-Acquired Pathogens - Use of Biocidal Surfaces for Reduction of Healthcare Acquired Infections - page 91

7

Candida albicans
Trychophyton mentagrophytes
Staphylococcus aureus
Eschericia coli

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

0 10 20 30 40 50

Number of Washes

Titer before
exposure
to textile

Fig. 5.3 No loss of biocidal efficacy with laundry

The copper oxide impregnated products possess broad-spectrum antimicrobial
properties, including against antibiotic resistant bacteria [ 4 , 108 - 110 , 117 , 119 ,
125 , 126 ]. These products include biocidal fabrics [ 4 , 108 , 109 , 117 ], anti-fungal
socks [ 108 , 118 , 121 , 123 , 127 ], anti-viral masks and filters [ 119 , 125 , 126 , 128 ],
anti-dust mite mattress-covers [ 108 , 129 ], and non-porous biocidal countertops (see
next section).
A preliminary pilot study with 30 patients, who slept overnight on regular sheets
and then overnight on sheets containing copper-oxide, demonstrated a statistically
significant lower (~50 %) bacterial colonization on the copper-oxide containing
sheets than on regular-sheets [ 4 ]. Similar statistically significant lower titers of
gram positive and gram negative bacteria were recovered from copper oxide
containing sheets than regular sheets (n ¼ 40), immediately after 7 h of patient's

use [ 130 ].
Importantly, in a clinical trial in the Reuth Medical Center (Tel Aviv, Israel), in
which the regular non-biocidal linens in a chronic care head injury ward were
replaced with the biocidal copper oxide impregnated linens, the rates of HAI per
1,000 hospitalization days (HD) were reduced by 24 % (P

0.05). Accordingly
there was a 32.8 % reduction in total number of days of antibiotics administration
per 1,000 HD (P

<

< 0.0001) and there was a 47 % reduction in the number of

38.5 C) per 1,000 HD (P

fever days ( 0.01) [ 130 ]. The study was conducted

in a chronic care head injury ward as most of the patients hospitalized in this ward
are high risk patients typically immunocompromised. Unfortunately the most
common medical complication which afflicts them is a HAI [ 131 - 133 ]. Based on

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