UV-C emergency kit in hostile conditions

BACKGROUND: Lack of a high level of disinfection/sterilization may occur in hostile conditions, emergency situations or remote locations. Consequently, it is life-threatening. WHO best practices guideline on emergency surgical care in disaster situations are based on “standard” methods of disinfection/sterilization. While effective, they require multi-step procedures which may not be compatible with the timeframe. We the research is to test a portable and practical UV-C LED box for a high-level disinfection or sterilization. METHODS: A pilot crossover study with a pre/post comparison was carried out in November 2017 in our laboratory. A box reactor with several sources of UV-C Led lights was designed for containing surgical instruments. The device has a battery which may be charged by a solar panel or a micro usb socket. The instruments were polluted (20 μl of solution at 1.5 × 10^3 CFU/μl) with Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens. Matched samples, controls and treatments, were prepared for 10-minute UV-C irradiation. Samples were taken with sterile swabs, shaken in 3 ml of phosphate buffered saline solution and 100 μl were seed in selective soil. Petri dishes were incubated at 36°C for 48 h and microbial contamination measured as CFU. RESULTS: The controls had an average bacterial charge of Staphylococcus aureus of 81 (SD 79) CFU/100μl; 41.8 (SD 28.7) CFU/100μl of Enterococcus faecalis, 3.5 (SD 1.7) CFU/100μl of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 61.8 (SD 14.0) CFU/100μl of Serratia marcescens. No bacterial growth was detected in any of the treated samples. CONCLUSIONS: The UV-C device provides a high disinfection level in 10 minutes and its pocket size makes it easy to transport. In addition, the option to recharge the battery with sunlight, allows you to use it in remote locations where BACKGROUND: Lack of a high level of disinfection/sterilization may occur in hostile conditions, emergency situations or remote locations. Consequently, it is life-threatening. WHO best practices guideline on emergency surgical care in disaster situations are based on “standard” methods of disinfection/sterilization. While effective, they require multi-step procedures which may not be compatible with the timeframe. We the research is to test a portable and practical UV-C LED box for a high-level disinfection or sterilization. METHODS: A pilot crossover study with a pre/post comparison was carried out in November 2017 in our laboratory. A box reactor with several sources of UV-C Led lights was designed for containing surgical instruments. The device has a battery which may be charged by a solar panel or a micro usb socket. The instruments were polluted (20 μl of solution at 1.5 × 10^3 CFU/μl) with Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens. Matched samples, controls and treatments, were prepared for 10-minute UV-C irradiation. Samples were taken with sterile swabs, shaken in 3 ml of phosphate buffered saline solution and 100 μl were seed in selective soil. Petri dishes were incubated at 36°C for 48 h and microbial contamination measured as CFU. RESULTS: The controls had an average bacterial charge of Staphylococcus aureus of 81 (SD 79) CFU/100μl; 41.8 (SD 28.7) CFU/100μl of Enterococcus faecalis, 3.5 (SD 1.7) CFU/100μl of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 61.8 (SD 14.0) CFU/100μl of Serratia marcescens. No bacterial growth was detected in any of the treated samples. CONCLUSIONS: The UV-C device provides a high disinfection level in 10 minutes and its pocket size makes it easy to transport. In addition, the option to recharge the battery with sunlight, allows you to use it in remote locations where