Airborne and Surface-Bound Microbial Contamination in Two Intensive Care Units of a Medical Center in Central Taiwan

Abstract

Samples of airborne and surface-bound microbial contamination were taken in two intensive care units of a large-scale medical center. Microbial analyses included total bacterial and fungal loads, as well as the four bacterial species of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. Among the 114 surface samples taken from seven designated surface locations of room and equipment for each patient, P. aeruginosa was the most frequently detected (19.3%) and most abundant (mean count: 4.18 cfu/plate) bacterium, whereas the respirator represented the most heavily contaminated surface location in both total pathogenic bacteria colony counts (272 cfu) and frequency of positive detection (38.2%). P. aeruginosa also represented the most frequently detected (39.1%, n = 46) and abundant (11.52 ± 17.16 cfu/m 3 ) bacterium in the air samples (n = 46), and was the only bacterium exhibiting a positive correlation of the mean counts between air and surface samples. The data analysis results further suggested a higher value of relative risk among the infected patients in the presence of the pathogens as compared to those in the absence of them, although the evidence of a of correlation for the individual bacterial species between the environmental samples and infected patients was inconclusive. This study also found that the mean airborne counts and the detection frequencies of these bacteria after patient visitation periods were higher than those before visitation, and that the installation of local air ionizers did not lead to any discernible differences in total bacterial and fungal concentrations.

Prevalence of Sick Building Syndrome-Related Symptoms among Hospital Workers in Confined and Open Working Spaces

“…With regard to the relationships between indoor air pollution and SBS-related symptoms, our study is not in all respects in agreement with earlier findings found in office workers (Huang et al, 2013). One phenomenon that may have existed was lower indoor air humidity at higher air exchange rates.…”

Microbial Air Contamination in an Intensive Care Unit

“…It was worth noting that the standard deviations of Room B, D, E and G were higher than the average values, which exhibited considerable variations of fungal levels in these four rooms. The total fungal concentration found in this study was higher than the results reported by Chuaybamroong et al [6] (67 CFU/m 3 ), Rocha et al [10] (9 CFU/m 3 ), and Huang et al [11] (12 CFU/m 3 and 59 CFU/m 3 in ICU I and ICU II, respectively, during sampling consistency study). However, the result was lower than the average reported by Fumagalli et al [12], who found a value between 250 and 300 CFU/m 3 during restrictive visiting periods.…”

“News on Air!” - Air Surveillance Report From Intensive Care Units of a Tertiary Care Hospital

“…However, none of the studies were conclusive about the role of air microflora in nosocomial infection in the Intensive Care Unit (ICUs), especially if it is multidrug resistant (MDR). So far, very few studies had been done in the ICU environment such as Ríos-Yuil et al [5] mentioned about the presence of various nosocomially significant fungus in the ICU of a general hospital and Huang et al [6] tried to find out the potential correlation between airborne and surface contamination in two ICUs of Taiwan, and whether patient infections were related to microbial contamination in the ICU. Based on the limited background knowledge about microbial contamination of the ICU environment and their contribution to nosocomial infection in the ICU, the main objectives of this study were microbiological characterization of the air samples in relation to the nosocomial infections in the different ICUs at different periods in our tertiary care hospital.…”