UV-C Light-Based Decontamination of Transvaginal Ultrasound Transducer: An Effective and Fast Way for Patient Safety in Gynecology

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Transvaginal ultrasound is one of the basic diagnostic methods used during gynecological examination. Lack of care during such an examination can lead to a risk of dangerous infection for both the patient and medical staff. Therefore, a crucial part of the preparation for the test is its proper disinfection. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of ultraviolet (UV-C) disinfection of ultrasound probes used in transvaginal examination for the prevention of infections in patients and healthcare personnel in ambulatory care settings. <b>Methods</b>: The eradication of microorganisms present (as a microbiota or etiological factors of infections) in the female reproductive tract was tested. They were the following: <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Staphylococcus haemolyticus</i>, <i>Streptococcus agalactiae</i>, <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>, <i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, <i>Candida albicans</i>, and <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i>. The study consisted of contaminating the ultrasound transducer with microbial strains of known density, then performing disinfection and assessing the number of surviving microbial cells. <b>Results:</b> Almost complete eradication of all tested pathogenic microorganisms was achieved, except <i>T. vaginalis</i>. But for this protozoa eradication of mobile forms reaches around 80%. <b>Conclusions:</b> Although the sample size in our study was limited and statistical significance was not reached, the substantial logarithmic reduction strongly indicates the effectiveness of this method.