The impact of a novel color additive for disinfectant wipes on room cleanliness and turnover time

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Contaminated environmental surfaces in the health care setting put patients at risk of acquiring health care-associated infections. Highlight (Kinnos) is a novel color-additive technology for disinfectant wipes that helps users visualize surfaces that have been cleaned by producing a transient color on wiped surfaces that fades off after effective cleaning. To quantify the impact of real-time visual feedback on room cleanliness and efficiency, a pre-post quasi-experimental study was conducted by comparing Replicate Organism Detection and Counting (RODAC) plate counts and room turnaround times with and without the use of the color additive. Compared with the control group of disinfectant alone, disinfection with the color additive resulted in a 69.2% improvement in room cleanliness accompanied by a 5.9% faster room turnover time. As far as we know, this study is the first to publish on the impact of a novel color additive on the environment of care as measured by microbial culturing and room turnaround times, finding advantages in both metrics relative to the status quo. The use of real-time visual feedback can improve the thoroughness of disinfection cleaning while maintaining operational efficiency.