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Evaluation
This study does a good job of demonstrating that copper surfaces may reduce the levels
of bacteria present in hospital rooms. However, the study has some inherent challenges. The
study was not blinded. The fact that the hospital staff could easily tell which rooms were in the
experimental control groups had the potential to affect their behaviorperhaps the staff took
greater precautions in the experimental rooms (more thorough hand washing, for example). It
would be non-trivial to blind an experiment of this type however, as its pretty obvious to the
staff which room contains copper objects. It may be possible, though, to find some sort of paint
or powder-coat that mimics the look and feel of a copper coating that could be used on the
control group.
Based on this study we would have good grounds for hypothesizing that copper-covered
objects would reduce the incidence of hospital acquired infections, but it would be good to do a
follow-up study to demonstrate this. Fewer bacteria in a room doesnt necessarily mean a lower
infection rate. There may be unknown factors that would lead the copper-covered objects to
contain a higher percentage of especially dangerous bacteria for example. Or perhaps hospitalacquired infections dont rely on room objects for their spreadperhaps they are more often
spread directly by a staff member with unwashed hands touching a patient. A study that pointed
to clinical results directly attributable to copper objects might encourage more hospitals to begin
rethinking their room design.
Another flaw in this study is the deviance from the protocol due to the hospital being at
over 100% capacity during peak season. While this estimated 12% deviation from the protocol
should have caused the copper to appear less effective than it really was, it is nevertheless an
anomaly, and if possible, it would be good to see a replication of this work with closer adherence
to the protocol.