New Research Showing Patients Get Fewer Infections After Hospitals Use Xenex’s Room Disinfection System Presented at IDWeek 2012

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, costing more than $30 billion each year. Evidence continues to mount that hospital cleanliness plays a role in the spread of HAIs, which are caused by deadly pathogens such as C. diff, MRSA, VRE and Acinetobacter. Although hospital cleaning teams attempt to do thorough cleaning, research is revealing they are not able to disinfect all the surfaces in patient rooms in the allotted time and that more than half of the surfaces remain untouched. Additionally, deadly “superbugs” such as C. diff are showing resistance to cleaning fluids, making them even more difficult to remove and eliminate.

“Observed Reduction of MRSA Following Implementation of Pulsed Xenon Ultraviolet Disinfection, a Hand Hygiene Campaign and MRSA Screening”

Innovative hospitals throughout the U.S. are now utilizing Xenex Healthcare Services’ patented, pulsed xenon UV light room disinfection system to destroy viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores in the patient environment without contact or chemicals. Uniquely designed for ease of use and portability, a hospital’s environmental services staff can operate the Xenex device without disrupting hospital operations or requiring the use of expensive chemicals. The Xenex system will disinfect over thirty (30) rooms per day, so hospitals use the system continuously to reduce contamination levels throughout their facilities.

Xenex, the world leader in UV room disinfection systems, is showcasing its pulsed xenon UV light device at IDWeek 2012 in San Diego, October 17-21, 2012 in booth 127. A certified “green” technology, Xenex offers the fastest, safest, and most cost-effective method for the automated disinfection of healthcare facilities. New research highlighting the efficacy of Xenex’s pulsed xenon room disinfection device will be presented via four posters at IDWeek. The research includes:

Joanne Levin, MD, Infection Prevention, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Northampton, MA, will present “The Use of Portable Pulsed Xenon Ultraviolet Light (PPX-UV) after Terminal Cleaning Associated with a Significant Decline in the Hospital-associated Clostridium difficile Infection (HA-CDI) Rate, Colectomy and Death in a Community Hospital” on Thursday, October 18 from 12:30-2:00 p.m. The poster findings include a 53 percent reduction in HA-CDI when Xenex’s device was used to disinfect patient rooms at discharge, operating rooms, emergency rooms, and other areas as available. In this study, 73 percent of the patients that developed HA-CDI in 2011 did not have their room treated with Xenex prior to occupancy.

Chetan Jinadatha, MD, MPH, Infectious Disease Division, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, Texas, will present “Evaluation of a Pulsed-Xenon Ultraviolet Room Disinfection Device for Impact on Contamination Levels of MRSA” at IDWeek on Friday, October 19 from 12:30-2:00 p.m.

Janet Haas, DNSc, RN, CIC, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY, will present “Implementation and Outcome of Ultraviolet Disinfection (UVD) In a Tertiary Care Facility” on Friday, October 19 from 12:30-2:00 p.m. The poster findings include a facility-wide reduction in both HA-CDI and overall HAIs despite the challenges of double occupancy rooms.

Melissa Morgan, BSN, RN, CIC, Cone Health, Greensboro, NC, will present “Observed Reduction of MRSA Following Implementation of Pulsed Xenon Ultraviolet Disinfection, a Hand Hygiene Campaign and MRSA Screening” on Saturday, October 20 from 12:30-2:00 p.m. Her poster reports that MRSA rates at Cone Health dropped 56 percent in 2011 after Cone Health implemented an infection prevention program including Xenex’s device.

Xenex devices are certified green by Practice Greenhealth, making them friendlier to the environment than current housecleaning chemicals or UV devices using toxic mercury. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy issued an Executive Order for federal agencies to become more protective of the environment in practices including the use of non-toxic or less toxic alternatives when possible where these products meet the performance requirements of the agency. Xenex is the only company to offer a xenon-based room disinfection product that is patented, tested, and proven to deliver a germicidal dose of UV-C light capable of killing C. diff in five minutes or less.

Xenex systems have proven to be effective against a variety of the most dangerous superbugs, including Clostridium difficile endospores (C. diff), MRSA, VRE, and Acinetobacter. Studies show the Xenex room disinfection system is consistently 20 times more effective than standard chemical cleaning practices and a recent study performed at MD Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated that the Xenex system was more effective than bleach in reducing C. diff. from patient rooms.

About Xenex Healthcare Services

Xenex’s patented pulsed xenon UV disinfection systems are utilized for the advanced cleaning of the patient environment in healthcare facilities. The Xenex system is the fastest, safest, most cost-effective, and most portable and user-friendly system available today among room disinfection technologies. Only Xenex uses pulsed xenon and contains no mercury. The Xenex mission is to significantly reduce the number of HAIs that impact the health and lives of millions of patients and their families and become the new standard method for disinfection in healthcare facilities worldwide. For more information please visit http://www.xenex.com.