Development of a bar code-based exposure assessment method to evaluate occupational exposure to disinfectants and cleaning products: a pilot study

Catherine Quinot (1) , Sylvie Amsellem-Dubourget (2) , Sofia Temam (1) , Etienne Sévin (3) , Christine Barreto (4, 2) , Arzu Tackin (5) , Jérémy Félicité (3) , Sarah Lyon-Caen (6) , Valérie Siroux (6) , Raphaële Girard (4) , Alexis Descatha (7) , Nicole Le Moual (8) , Orianne Dumas (1)

1 VIMA - Vieillissement et Maladies chroniques : approches épidémiologique et de santé publique
2 ProdHyBase [Hôpital Henry Gabrielle, Saint-Genis-Laval]
3 EpiConcept [Paris]
4 ProdHyBase - Unité d'hygiène et d'épidémiologie [GHE, Lyon]
5 Equipe opérationnelle d’hygiène hospitalière [AP-HP Hôpital Raymond-Poincaré]
6 IAB - Institute for Advanced Biosciences / Institut pour l'Avancée des Biosciences (Grenoble)
7 CONSTANCES - Cohortes épidémiologiques en population
8 CESP - Centre de recherche en épidémiologie et santé des populations

OBJECTIVE: Healthcare workers are highly exposed to various types of disinfectants and cleaning products. Assessment of exposure to these products remains a challenge. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of a method, based on a smartphone application and bar codes, to improve occupational exposure assessment among hospital/cleaning workers in epidemiological studies. METHODS: A database of disinfectants and cleaning products used in French hospitals, including their names, bar codes and composition, was developed using several sources: ProdHyBase (a database of disinfectants managed by hospital hygiene experts), and specific regulatory agencies and industrial websites. A smartphone application has been created to scan bar codes of products and fill a short questionnaire. The application was tested in a French hospital. The ease of use and the ability to record information through this new approach were estimated. RESULTS: The method was tested in a French hospital (7 units, 14 participants). Through the application, 126 records (one record referred to one product entered by one participant/unit) were registered, majority of which were liquids (55.5%) or sprays (23.8%); 20.6% were used to clean surfaces and 15.9% to clean toilets. Workers used mostly products with alcohol and quaternary ammonium compounds (>90% with weekly use), followed by hypochlorite bleach and hydrogen peroxide (28.6%). For most records, information was available on the name (93.7%) and bar code (77.0%). Information on product compounds was available for all products and recorded in the database. CONCLUSION: This innovative and easy-to-use method could help to improve the assessment of occupational exposure to disinfectants/cleaning products in epidemiological studies.

Mots clés: cleaning products; hospital workers; occupational exposure; smartphone application

Domaines: Santé publique et épidémiologie

Catherine Quinot, Sylvie Amsellem-Dubourget, Sofia Temam, Etienne Sévin, Christine Barreto, et al.. Development of a bar code-based exposure assessment method to evaluate occupational exposure to disinfectants and cleaning products: a pilot study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2018, Epub ahead of print. ⟨10.1136/oemed-2017-104793⟩. ⟨inserm-01795610⟩