Abstract
We have evaluated UV irradiation of the setlbag connection as a method of eliminating organisms causing peritonitis among CAPD patients. In the first phase of the study, spike lumens of CAPD transfer sets were inoculated with C. albicans, which are known to be relatively resistant to UV light. After irradiation, results showed a 61og 10 reduction in microbial population. In the second phase, the spikes were contaminated by touch. Following irradiation, 100% of the contaminated spikes were disinfected. These data indicate that UV germicidal systems can achieve a significant reduction of contaminating microbial population on a CAPD transfer-set spike.
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is now a well-accepted therapy for end-stage renal disease (I). However, peritonitis remains a potential complication of this therapy. Several methods have been proposed for preventing microorganisms from entering the peritoneum via the primary (set-to-bag) connection. Such approaches have included placement of membrane filters in the fluid transfer set (2), use of disinfectant solutions (3), and recently the “sterile welding” technique (4). A gennicidal system, which uses ultraviolet (UV) light as the disinfecting source, has recently become available. Ultraviolet light has beeen utilized in industry and medicine for a number of years and for a number of applications, e.g., disinfecting operating rooms (5) and sterilizing water and packaging materials (6). The present paper describes the evaluation of ultraviolet irradiation as a means of disinfecting the CAPD transfer set-to-bag connection.
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