Métodos de avaliação da limpeza e desinfecção de superfícies em unidade de terapia intensiva pediátrica

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the correlation between methods for evaluating the cleaning and disinfection of surfaces in a pe diatric intensive care unit. Methods: a single-group, three--phase, quasi-experimental study conducted in a public unit. The effectiveness of cleaning 120 surfaces was assessed by performing 960 measurements before and after the process, using adenosine triphosphate quantification, visual inspection, and aerobic bacterial colony counts. Results: there was a sig nificant positive correlation between adenosine triphosphate and colony-forming units only in phase three for the caregiver chair (Spearman’s rho = 0.74; p-value = 0.038). For the other surfaces, across the three phases, no significant correlations were observed between the two methods before or after cle aning and disinfection, indicating a lack of consistent associa tion in most situations. Conclusion: the methods have distinct sensitivity and specificity profiles, are not interchangeable, and are influenced by the nature of the unit, the type of surface, and the equipment and supplies used. Contributions to prac tice: combining bioluminescence and fluorescence with visual inspection may strengthen infection prevention protocols, sup port managerial decisions, improve audit quality, and enhance nursing performance for patient safety in critical areas. Descriptors: Pediatric Nursing; Biological Contamination; In fection Control; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric.