A critical evaluation of current protocols for self-sterilizing surfaces designed to reduce viral nosocomial infections.

BACKGROUND: Biocidal high-touch surfaces contact surfaces can be used to help reduce healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). While the bactericidal protocols are well developed, there remains high variability in the methods used to evaluate the virucidal properties of such surfaces. This paper seeks to identify the most commonly used methods and critically evaluate the strengths of each method by comparing tests from standard testing organisations and related bactericidal protocols. METHODS: Three databases and grey literature were queried using a key-word search for relevant articles. Articles were selected if they met the criteria of virucidal properties of self-sterilizing surfaces designed to prevent HAIs. Of the resulting 177 articles, 38 met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: The resulting papers varied greatly in their testing methods and recommendations. Further, no standard test adequately meets the needs for specifically testing virucidal properties of self-sterilizing surfaces. CONCLUSIONS: Studies have shown that temperature and humidity can affect the performance of virucidal touch-surfaces, but no standard protocols were found to test these factors.