Tristel Duo sporicidal surface cleaner appears to have been effective in helping overcome a difficult contamination challenge faced by microbiology lab staff at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Trust
When a sustained increase in negative control values for the lab's nucleic acid amplification technique-based chlamydia assay pointed to localised contamination with amplified DNA, lab staff took measures to clean and decontaminate all the designated working areas and instrumentation.
Meanwhile chlamydia tests were shipped to a nearby lab for processing.
Despite scrupulous attention to the cleaning and decontamination process, the standard procedures using hypochlorite and a proprietary DNase treatment seemed to be ineffective, even though the contamination 'hot spot' was confirmed and all testing had been stopped.
In consultation with the hospital's infection control team, senior biomedical scientist Bill Purdon decided to apply the new Tristel Duo sporicidal hard surface wipes to the problem.
Tristel solutions for endoscope decontamination and wipes for nasendoscopes are used routinely in the hospital and the new Duo wipes had recently arrived for trial.
These appeared to be successful in finally eliminating the contamination from the lab, allowing it to become fully operational again for chlamydia testing.
Tristel Duo is the first rapid action sporicidal cleaner for general hospital surfaces and non-invasive medical devices.
A two part system, Duo comprises a bactericidal and virucidal wipe, which can be boosted by the application of the Tristel Duo sporicidal foam.
This delivers chlorine dioxide directly to the surface, as and when required.
