Moreover, it would be important to evaluate the advantages of implemented cleaning and disinfection protocols with the use of UV-C devices in areas hosting fragile and vulnerable patients, e.g., in intensive care units. The principal limitation is the continuous presence of people in this type of setting. For this reason, it would be worth evaluating strategies aimed at protecting the patient&#x;s safety using protective devices, which may be evaluated for human security during UV-C emission at specific dosages and times.

In the OT and ICU, where the limit for hygiene quality is defined by national guidelines, respectively, % (/) and % (/) of the surface samples resulted in being non-compliant after SOP. In the ward rooms, according to the standard reported in the literature, % (/) of the sampled sites resulted in being non-compliant. All of the samples were compliant after UV-C disinfection. In all of the settings, % (/) of the sampled points received a medium UV-C dose of mJ/cm

The UV-C disinfection robot (Mediland Enterprise Corporation, Taoyuan City, Taiwan) uses amalgam lamps (UV lamp NNI / XL Niederdruck VUV Strahler) and protective reflector technology to generate high-energy, broad-spectrum ultraviolet light (UV-C &#x; nm). The manufacturer of the lamps declares in the technical data sheet that the lamps have a filter that blocks radiation between &#x; nm, eliminating the possibility of producing ozone as a by-product of UV-C radiation. The UV-C device uses min disinfection cycles and multiple positions with minimal distances from high-touch surfaces. Due to the use of high-intensity UV-C radiation, the device must operate in unoccupied rooms. There are multi-motion sensors that shut off the device if any movement is detected inside the room being disinfected or if the door is accidentally opened. When the robot operates in accordance with these procedures, the manufacturer declares that the amalgam lamps produce no ozone gas and leave no toxic residues.

Monitoring data feedback to cleaning staff through periodic audits can be a valid aid for improving cleaning and disinfection procedures and adherence to protocols. This strategy was adopted in our study and, thanks to the collaboration between the infection control team and the outsourced cleaning company, it was possible to identify the critical issues and take corrective actions. To this end, environmental monitoring is essential for process verification.

These organisms belong to a group of carbapenem-resistant, gram-negative bacteria of national and international concern because of their implication as an emerging cause of severe healthcare-associated infections. In , the World Health Organization published the first global guidelines for the prevention and control of CRE-CRAB-CRPsA in healthcare facilities, which include environmental cleaning and disinfection as a key recommendation.