In-Vitro Evaluation of an UL TRA Violet Germicidal Connection System for CAPD

We have evaluated UV irradiation of the setlbag connection as a method of eliminating organisms causing peritonitis among CAPD patients. In the first phase of the study, spike lumens of CAPD transfer sets were inoculated with C. albicans , which are known to be relatively resistant to UV light. After irradiation, results showed a 61og 10 reduction in microbial population. In the second phase, the spikes were contaminated by touch. Following irradiation, 100% of the contaminated spikes were disinfected. These data indicate that UV germicidal systems can achieve a significant reduction of contaminating microbial population on a CAPD transfer-set spike. Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is now a well-accepted therapy for end-stage renal disease (I). However, peritonitis remains a potential complication of this therapy. Several methods have been proposed for preventing microorganisms from entering the peritoneum via the primary (set-to-bag) connection. Such approaches have included placement of membrane filters in the fluid transfer set (2), use of disinfectant solutions (3), and recently the “sterile welding” technique (4). A gennicidal system, which uses ultraviolet (UV) light as the disinfecting source, has recently become available. Ultraviolet light has beeen utilized in industry and medicine for a number of years and for a number of applications, e.g., disinfecting operating rooms (5) and sterilizing water and packaging materials (6). The present paper describes the evaluation of ultraviolet irradiation as a means of disinfecting the CAPD transfer set-to-bag connection.