# Evaluation of the efficacy of the automatic ozone decontamination device in a real-life setting of an intravitreal injection room

## TL;DR

This study tested an ozone system to disinfect a room used for eye injections, finding it significantly reduced bacteria and fungi in the air and on surfaces.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of automated ozone decontamination in reducing microbial load in a real-world clinical setting.

## Key findings

- Ozonation reduced bacterial load by up to 96% and fungal load by up to 100% in the injection room.
- Significant microbial reductions were observed 24 hours after ozone treatment.
- Automated ozonation may complement routine cleaning to maintain low environmental bioburden.

## Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an ozonation system for disinfecting intravitreal injection rooms.

A prospective intervention pilot study was conducted with a ‘before-and-after’ design.

The study was conducted in an intravitreal injection room at Hospital de Manises.

Air and surface samples were taken before and after ozonation using a remote-controlled ozonation system. The room was treated with ozone at a concentration of 9–10 ppm for 20 min. Measurements were taken immediately after, 12 h, and 24 h post ozonation. Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

At 24 h post ozonation, significant reductions in microbial load were observed: in the centre of the room, the bacterial load reduced from >250 colony-forming units (cfu) to 10 cfu (96%) and fungi from 14 cfu to <1 cfu (93.1%) (P < 0.05); in the diffuser, the bacterial load reduced from 61 cfu to 24 cfu (60.7%) and fungi from 6 cfu to <1 cfu (100%) (P < 0.05) and on the procedure chair, the bacterial load reduced from 51 cfu to 7 cfu (86.3%) and fungi from 6 cfu to 3 cfu (50%) (P < 0.05).

In a dedicated intravitreal injection room, a remotely controlled ozonation cycle at 9–10 ppm for 20 min was associated with substantial short-term reductions in airborne and selected surface microbial load under unoccupied conditions. Automated ozonation may complement routine cleaning and ventilation to maintain low environmental bioburden; its clinical impact remains to be determined.