Table 3.
Characteristics of the biofilm in relation to the disinfection protocol.
| Control | Intermittent Disinfection | Continuous Disinfection | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T0 | T1 | T0 | T1 | T0 vs. T1 | T0 | T1 | T0 vs. T1 | ||
| surface covered by biofilm <1 μm (%) | 15.0 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 46.7 | 15.3 | 75.3 | |||
| Thickness | surface covered by biofilm 1–3 μm (%) | 42.5 | 50.0 | 46.7 | 30.8 | p < 0.001 | 44.7 | 23.0 | p < 0.001 |
| surface covered by biofilm >3 μm (%) | 42.5 | 42.5 | 46.7 | 22.5 | 40.0 | 1.7 | |||
| Friability | surface with detached and fragmented biobilm (%) | 70.0 | 67.5 | 57.5 | 67.5 | n.s. | 63.7 | absent | p < 0.001 |
| Bulging | surface with bulging (%) | 65.0 | 45.0 | 36.7 | 3.3 | p < 0.001 | 65.0 | 8.3 | p < 0.001 |
Notes: T0: before the beginning of the disinfection protocols; T1: 3 months after the beginning of the disinfection protocols; ns: not significant.