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NCT Number: NCT07233837

Hydrogen Peroxide and Ultraviolet Light for Disinfecting Surfaces in Intensive Care Units

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a major problem in intensive care units (ICUs), driven by environmental contamination with multidrug-resistant organisms that persist despite routine manual cleaning. While hydrogen peroxide aerosolization and ultraviolet-C light devices have shown promise in reducing surface contamination, current evidence is inconsistent, mostly derived from single-center studies, and rarely linked to patient-centered outcomes.

The investigators will conduct this cluster-randomized, crossover trial in 12 Brazilian ICUs. Each ICU will sequentially implement three strategies: (1) usual surface disinfection; (2) usual surface disinfection followed by hydrogen peroxide aerosolization at 7.9% concentration, applied through a dedicated device inside a protective tent during terminal cleaning of patient beds; and (3) usual surface disinfection followed by automated ultraviolet-C irradiation, also applied under the same tent to shield adjacent occupied beds.

The primary outcome will be the antimicrobial utilization, measured as daily defined doses (DDD) of antimicrobials at the ICU level per 100 patient-days, with secondary outcomes including HAI incidence rate, environmental contamination with multidrug-resistant organisms, specific HAIs incidence rate (associated-ventilator pneumonia, central-line associated bloodstream infection, and catheter-associated urinary tract infection), and ICU length of stay costs.

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Key information

Conditions

Infection, Hospital Antimicrobial Catheter Related Blood Stream Infections Catheter-Related Infections Cross Infection Disease Attributes Female Urogenital Diseases Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia Iatrogenic Disease Infections Lung Diseases Male Urogenital Diseases Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Pneumonia Pneumonia Associated With Mechanical Ventilation Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated Respiratory Tract Diseases Respiratory Tract Infections Urinary Tract Infection(UTI) Urinary Tract Infections Urogenital Diseases Urologic Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Hospital Maternidade Sao Vicente De Paulo, Barbalha, Ceará, Brazil

Loading trial locations.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • All patients aged 18 years and older who will be admitted to the participating ICUs

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients under 18 years
  • ICUs that use peroxide hydrogen or ultraviolet light for surface disinfection as part of their protocol

Treatment and study plan

Aerosol of hydrogen peroxide

Other

Spray of aerosolized peroxide hydrogen using a specific device when performing terminal cleaning of the ICU bed after the patient's discharge.

Other names: Hydrogen Peroxide

Irradiation of ultraviolet light

Other

Irradiation of UV light for the purpose of disinfecting beds and surfaces near beds during terminal cleaning.

Other names: Ultraviolet light

Primary outcomes

  1. Antimicrobial utilization at the ICU level

    Time frame: 3 months

    Antimicrobial utilization, measured as daily defined doses (DDD) of antimicrobials at the ICU level per 100 patient-days

Secondary outcomes

  1. Healthcare-associated infections

    Time frame: 3 months

    Incidence rate of device healthcare-associated infections during ICU admission

  2. Contamination of environmental surfaces by multi-resistant microorganisms

    Time frame: 3 months

    We will collect environmental samples from 4 surfaces highly touched by the patient, health team and family (bed rails, monitor and infusion pump buttons, meal table or procedure table, and IV drip stand) before and after the intervention. For analysis of the environmental samples, characterization of the density and microbiological profile of biofilms on the different surfaces of the ICU beds will be performed using large-scale DNA sequencing techniques associated with bioinformatics analysis.

  3. Incidence density of ventilator-associated pneumonia

    Time frame: 3 months

  4. Incidence density of central line-associated bloodstream infections

    Time frame: 3 months

  5. Incidence density of catheter-associated urinary tract infection

    Time frame: 3 months

  6. Intensive care unit length of stay costs

    Time frame: 3 months

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Adriano J Pereira, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

551121519617

Antonio P Nassar Jr, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

551121519617

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein

Other

Collaborators

  • Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo
  • Hospital Sirio-Libanes
  • Hospital do Coracao

Registry information

Official study title

Hydrogen Peroxide and Ultraviolet Light for Disinfecting Surfaces in Intensive Care Units: A Randomized, Controlled, Cluster, Crossover Clinical Trial

Acronym: Hylight

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Nov 18, 2025
Registry last updated
Apr 15, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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