Long-term antimicrobial effectiveness of a silver-impregnated foil on high-touch hospital surfaces in patient rooms

Widmer, Andreas F.; Kuster, Sonja; Dangel, Marc; Jäger, Sammy; Frei, Reno

BACKGROUND: The hospital environment has got more attention as evidence as source for bacterial transmission and subsequent hospital-acquired infection increased. Regular cleaning and disinfection have been proposed to lower the risk of infection, in particular for gram-positive bacteria. Auto-disinfecting surfaces would allow to decrease survival of pathogens, while limiting resource to achieve a safe environment in patient rooms. METHODS: A controlled trial to evaluate the antimicrobial effectiveness of a polyvinyl chloride foil containing an integrated silver-based agent (containing silver ions 2%) on high-touch surfaces in patient rooms. RESULTS: The overall log reduction of the mean values was 1.8 log(10) CFU, the median 0.5 log(10) CFU comparing bioburden of control vs antimicrobial foil (p < 0.01). Important pathogens were significantly less likely recovered from the foil, in particular enterococci. These effects were present even after 6 months of in-use. CONCLUSIONS: A foil containing an integrated silver-based agent applied to high-touch surfaces effectively results in lower recovery of important pathogens from such surfaces over a 6-month study period. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13756-021-00956-1.