Louise Higgins
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Louise Higgins has a total of 8 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Alexander Padiglione
Victorian Adult Burns Service, Alfred Health, 89 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
1 shared publication - Cheng Hean Lo
Skin Bioengineering Laboratory, Victorian Adult Burns Service, Alfred Health, 89 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
1 shared publication - Elad Zvi
Victorian Adult Burns Service, Alfred Health, 89 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
1 shared publication - Eldho Paul
School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
1 shared publication - Heather Cleland
Victorian Adult Burns Service, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Level 3, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
1 shared publication - Maja Garcia
Victorian Adult Burns Service, Alfred Health, 89 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
- 11 May 2026
- Published by MDPI AG in European Burn Journal
- Vol. 7 (2) , 25
The Efficacy of UV-C Disinfection in Decreasing Hospital-Acquired Infections and Bioburden in an Adult Burns Service
Background: Burn patients are highly susceptible to hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), and contaminated near-patient surfaces can act as reservoirs for multidrug-resistant organisms (MROs). Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) room disinfection is increasingly used as an adjunct to manual cleaning, but real-world data in adult burns settings remain limited. Methods: We evaluated adjunctive UV-C disinfection in a tertiary adult trauma and burns surgical ward using a two-part observational design. Part A compares MRO-related HAI incidence before UV-C implementation (12 May 2015–11 May 2020; retrospective) with its incidence after implementation (14 July 2020–13 July 2021; prospective). Part B is a matched pre/post environmental sampling study (December 2022–December 2024) of 44 vacant rooms. Paired swabs from a single randomised high-touch surface per room were collected immediately before and after UV-C disinfection and processed by an independent laboratory. Results: Part A included 7589 admissions (6415 before-UV-C; 1174 after-UV-C) with 2728 UV-C cycles delivered after implementation. MRO-related HAI incidence decreased from 18.3 to 10.2 per 1000 bed-days (p < 0.01). In Part B, the proportion of swabs with p = 0.02). Among swabs with non-negligible baseline contamination and excluding increases, the median CFU reduction was 97% (SD 12%; p < 0.001), with no significant differences in reduction across sampled surface types. Conclusion: In an adult burns surgical ward, adjunctive UV-C disinfection was associated with reduced MRO-related HAI incidence and a substantial reduction in environmental bioburden on high-touch surfaces. These real-world findings support UV-C as a feasible adjunct to standard cleaning in high-risk burn services and inform future controlled evaluations.
- 11 May 2026
- Published by MDPI AG in European Burn Journal
- Vol. 7 (2) , 25
Open AccessThe Efficacy of UV-C Disinfection in Decreasing Hospital-Acquired Infections and Bioburden in an Adult Burns Service
Background: Burn patients are highly susceptible to hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), and contaminated near-patient surfaces can act as reservoirs for multidrug-resistant organisms (MROs). Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) room disinfection is increasingly used as an adjunct to manual cleaning, but real-world data in adult burns settings remain limited. Methods: We evaluated adjunctive UV-C disinfection in a tertiary adult trauma and burns surgical ward using a two-part observational design. Part A compares MRO-related HAI incidence before UV-C implementation (12 May 2015–11 May 2020; retrospective) with its incidence after implementation (14 July 2020–13 July 2021; prospective). Part B is a matched pre/post environmental sampling study (December 2022–December 2024) of 44 vacant rooms. Paired swabs from a single randomised high-touch surface per room were collected immediately before and after UV-C disinfection and processed by an independent laboratory. Results: Part A included 7589 admissions (6415 before-UV-C; 1174 after-UV-C) with 2728 UV-C cycles delivered after implementation. MRO-related HAI incidence decreased from 18.3 to 10.2 per 1000 bed-days (p < 0.01). In Part B, the proportion of swabs with p = 0.02). Among swabs with non-negligible baseline contamination and excluding increases, the median CFU reduction was 97% (SD 12%; p < 0.001), with no significant differences in reduction across sampled surface types. Conclusion: In an adult burns surgical ward, adjunctive UV-C disinfection was associated with reduced MRO-related HAI incidence and a substantial reduction in environmental bioburden on high-touch surfaces. These real-world findings support UV-C as a feasible adjunct to standard cleaning in high-risk burn services and inform future controlled evaluations.