Enzymatic detergents drastically outperform commercial solutions
Common sense tells us medical equipment needs to be cleaned thoroughly before being reused, but did you know not all cleaning solutions are created equal?
Leading German test lab WFK Testgewebe finds enzymatic detergents to be twice as effective for cleaning surgical tools as standard chemical products
Common sense tells us medical equipment needs to be cleaned thoroughly before being reused, but did you know not all cleaning solutions are created equal?
In 2012, 312.9 million surgeries were performed. That means there were 312.9 million opportunities for patients to contract surgical site infections caused by contaminated tools. These deadly infections can increase the risk of death by as much as 11 times the average rate.
An estimated 1.7 million patients contract healthcare-associated infections (HAI) annually, costing the U.S. healthcare system as much as $10 billion every year.
It’s clear the standard cleaning solutions aren’t getting the job done. Fortunately, we know a solution that can: enzymes. To test this, we partnered with Brüggen, Germany’s WFK Testgewebe to study the effectiveness of enzymes on commercially available soils.
Enzymes: What’s the big deal?
Most modern cleaning products use harsh chemicals to get rid of tissue, blood and other forms of medical soil. While chemicals can be effective in some cases, they’re damaging to the environment and will gradually wear down equipment.
Enter: enzymes.
These naturally occurring molecules break down organic soils, making it easy for surfactants to remove them from medical equipment. And unlike chemicals, they’re biodegradable and act gently on equipment, ensuring a safe and eco-friendly cleaning experience.
Putting Novozymes enzymes to the test
To study whether our enzymes make a difference, the WFK Testgewebe lab ran a study that compared Novozymes’ model enzyme detergent with commercial detergents.
First, they manually soiled an array of commercially available indicators with blood and artificial residue.
Next, they cleaned each indicator with five separate methods: water, alkaline detergent, an enzyme-free detergent and two Novozymes enzyme solutions. Each wash cycle lasted five minutes.
Finally, the test strips were evaluated visually once they were dry.
The result: the Novozymes solution significantly outperformed any other method, cleaning off 100% of the residue in 92% of the strips. The next best performer was the alkaline detergent, clocking in at a sluggish 46%.
Why was there such a big difference? Novozymes enzymes gave the detergent an extra kick, allowing it to loosen residue more quickly and effectively than chemicals.
You can read the full study here.
A better way forward
More than 98,000 patients who contract healthcare-acquired infections die annually. That’s simply too high a price to pay for what should be an avoidable scenario.
Incorporating Novozymes enzymes into your detergent helps hospitals reduce costs, improve efficiency and most importantly, save lives. Its ability to clean residue more effectively than ever before makes it a critical part of reprocessing routines.
If you’re ready to sell a more reliable detergent, get in touch with us today. Our medical line of enzymatic products is available now to help you ensure a safer and more cost-efficient hospital environment.