Tailpiece Heating device for effective prevention of biofilm growth in sink plumbing

Abstract

In recent years, numerous hospitals have linked patient infections to Klebsiella pneumoniae producing Enterobacterales (KPCE) and other resistant bacterial species in their wastewater systems and handwashing sinks. Wastewater plumbing provides a reservoir for bacteria, making them incredibly difficult to eliminate through traditional disinfection methods. Data suggests that patients become infected when bacteria grow or migrate up the proximal wastewater plumbing and into the sink basin, and are subsequently dispersed onto surrounding surfaces. Therefore, a novel electronic device was developed that acts at the highest risk area, just below the sink drain, to heat and dry out the biofilm and creating a biofilm barrier and prevent upward growth from the sink trap. The efficacy of the first prototype of a tailpiece heater (TPH) in preventing drain colonization was tested using GFP-expressing Escherichia coli (GFP-E. coli) as the challenge organism. In control sinks without the TPH, GFP-E. coli biofilm grew from the p-trap upwards to colonize the drain within 7 days. Sinks with a TPH set to 75{degrees}C were found to prevent sink drain colonization. In contrast, 65{degrees}C was not adequate to prevent drain colonization. Using KPCE the TPH was more effective than no heat control in preventing drain colonization in sinks over time. Lastly, when challenged with seeding from above, the TPH also effectively prevented KPCE colonization at the drain level. Heating of the tailpiece may offer a safe, effective, and economically attractive approach to preventing the spread of resistant bacterial species from contaminated drain biofilm to patients.