ATP Rapid Testing in Health Care Settings

Abstract

Infection Prevention in hospitals is an integral part of what makes hospitals effective at total patient care. Environmental surfaces in patient rooms in hospitals include counters, tray tables, nursing equipment, and many other high touch surfaces, all of which can carry bacteria and harmful substances, and can cause secondary infections if they are not cleaned properly. This study was conducted to test how well these high-touch environmental surfaces are cleaned using a rapid test, as opposed to standard microbiological methods. This rapid test measured the amount of ATP found on a surface (given in RLUs), in order to estimate the amount of contamination. In general, most environmental surfaces in different departments across Fairview Health Services met cleanliness standards. A standard must be made for this type of testing in order to know what ATP levels are acceptable. It was also determined that using this ATP rapid test is a viable way to check how effective patient rooms are being cleaned.