A Copper Clinical Trial commenced at the end of 2007 at Selly Oak Hospital, part of the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust, to assess copper’s ability to reduce reservoirs of infection and therefore have a role in reducing transmission of infection when it is directly integrated in a hospital environment. This study will cover two medical wards comparable in every way and located next to one another in the main building. |
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One of the wards will serve as the control: no additional copper-containing items will be placed there. In the test ward, frequently touched surfaces have been identified and will be replaced with copper-based items: door handles, sink taps, grab rails in bathrooms, dressing trolleys, waste bin lids, toilet flush handles, alcohol gel- paper towel- and toilet paper- dispensers. These items will be used and evaluated over a period of 18 months, in order to observe the effects on environmental microbial loads.
The two wards have similar groups of patients. Patients’ microbial colonisation rates will be monitored. In addition, the regular samples taken on different surfaces in the control environment and the test environment will be used to identify pathogenic micro-organisms and to determine their genotype, in order to understand how they are spread. The comparison of these two indicators will be used to evaluate whether or not (and to what extent) the presence of copper reduces the risk of cross-contamination between patients.
The study is being carried out jointly by the University Hospital Birmingham and Aston University, under the leadership of Professor Tom Elliott and Professor Peter Lambert.
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Professors Tom Elliott and Peter Lambert have considerable expertise and an international reputation regarding the interaction between bacteria and surfaces in the clinical environment.
See the slideshow on the right for some of the copper and copper alloy products being used in the test ward.
See the clinical trial video and publication below.
View copper clinical trial video 
Pub 190 - Copper Clinical Trial 
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