Hygiene, Volume 2, Issue 3 (September 2022) – 5 articles

This paper examined why sleep hygiene practices work in some cases and not in others with a focus on non-clinical population. Sleep hygiene rules target lifestyle and environmental factors. Changing sleep-wake routines, avoiding alcohol, caffeine, bright light, and vigorous exercise near bedtime, and improving the sleeping environment (making it darker, quieter, and cooler) should yield a better night’s sleep. However, the factors that predispose to sleeping difficulties are divergent among individuals. Additionally, current sleep hygiene practices fail to consider critical factors that can affect sleep, such as emotional stress (worries, stress, anxiety, anger, and fear); daytime exposure to light (that regulates the sleep-wake cycle); and human’s deep-seated habits where motivating change takes time and may necessitate behavioral therapy. The paper posits that sleep hygiene practices need (1) to be tailored individually, demanding a precision medicine approach, (2) consider negative emotions that can impact sleep and (3) incorporate a behavioral change and a commitment to planned actions for its successful implementation. Further, recommendations are provided to guide future research into sleep hygiene practices. Full article

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) are a cause of productivity loss and disability. Resistance training (RT) and stretching seems to relieve pain, reducing the relative workload via an improvement in range of motion. Sixteen women (age: 48.69 ± 5.88 years old, working career duration as a packager: 22.75 ± 2.18 years) were recruited to participate in a 14-week work-based RT and stretching program. Specific exercise training (SET) targeting all body areas affected by WRMDs was performed after week 6. Physical fitness was measured via the 2 min step test (2MST), the back scratch test and the handgrip test (HG). To evaluate the level of pain in the cervical spine, shoulder, elbow and wrist, the visual analogue scale (VAS) was used. Differences were verified with a t-test. The cervical spine (p = 0.02) and left wrist (p = 0.04) VAS decreased, whereas the HG for both right (p = 0.01) and left (p = 0.01) hands and the 2MST (p = 0.01) improved. Participants with WRMDs affecting the cervical spine reported a 3.72 higher VAS score for the neck at the beginning of the protocol (p = 0.03). The protocol improved the physical fitness of participants but showed a limited effect on WRMD pain. The mean adherence was 86.2%, which indicated that exercise performed in the workplace is well accepted and could be used for pain management. Full article

Ultra-violet (UV) C (200–280 wavelength) light has long been known for its antimicrobial and disinfecting efficacy. It damages DNA by causing the dimerization of pyrimidines. A newly designed technology (MUVi-UVC; Mobile UV Innovations Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, Australia) that emits UVC at 240 nm is composed of an enclosed booth with three UVC light stands each with four bulbs, and has been developed for disinfecting mobile medical equipment. The aim of this project was to examine the spectrum of antimicrobial activity of this device. The experiments were designed following ASTM E1052-20, EN14561, BSEN14476-2005, BSEN14562-2006 and AOAC-Official-Method-966.04 standards for surface disinfection after drying microbes on surfaces. The disinfection was analyzed using Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6294), Candida auris (CBS 12373), spores of Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404), coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 surrogate ATCC VR-261) as well as a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (SA31), a carbapenem- and polymyxin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA219), Escherichia coli K12 (ATCC 10798) and Salmonella typhi (ATCC 700730). The parameters of time, the number of lights and direction of the sample facing the lights were examined. The MUVi-UVC was able to kill 99.999% of all of the tested bacteria, fungi, coronavirus and bacteria in the biofilms if used for 5 min using all three lights in the setup with the glass slides in a vertical position. However, for fungal spores, 30 min were required to achieve 99.999% killing. There was a small but insignificant effect of having the surface horizontally or vertically aligned to the UV lights. Therefore, this UVC device is an effective technology to disinfect medical devices. Full article

Biocide resistance is an increasing concern. However, it is currently unknown if an elevated MIC value for an isolate correlates with a lower log₁₀ reduction in suspension tests or carrier tests. The aim of this review was therefore to evaluate if isolates with a suspected tolerance to a biocidal active substance reveal an elevated MIC value and an impaired efficacy in suspension tests and carrier tests. A Medline search was done on 6 July 2022 using the following terms: “resistance biocidal MIC suspension” (16 hits), “resistance biocidal MIC carrier” (22 hits), “resistance biocidal suspension carrier” (41 hits), “tolerance biocidal MIC suspension” (1 hit), “tolerance biocidal MIC carrier” (4 hits) and “tolerance biocidal suspension carrier” (3 hits). Studies were included when a tolerance or resistance to the biocidal active substance or disinfectant was suspected and at least two of the three endpoints were evaluated in parallel in comparison to the control isolates. In three out of five studies, the elevated MIC values did not correlate with an impaired bactericidal efficacy against the biocide-tolerant isolates. In three out of five studies, an impaired activity in the suspension tests was described that correlated with an impaired efficacy in the carrier tests (peracetic acid-tolerant K. pneumoniae and glutaraldehyde-tolerant M. chelonae; the two other studies did not allow a comparison. Overall, the results from the suspension tests and tests under practical conditions allowed to determine a clinically relevant resistance. Full article