[Quantitative study of bacterial flora in operating room air]

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Environmental Health
• Medical Engineering

Background:

• Operating room air quality is critical for preventing surgical site infections.
• Accurate monitoring of airborne bacteria is essential for infection control protocols.
• Existing methods for air-bacteria counting require evaluation for efficiency and sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comparatively evaluate the performance of two air-bacteria counting machines: MK II (Casella) and RB (Joubert).
• To assess the impact of air filtration systems on bacterial contamination levels in operating rooms.
• To analyze bacterial counts in different operating room environments, including laminar air flow systems.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous sampling of pre-operation air in operating rooms using both MK II and RB machines.
• Comparison of bacterial counts obtained from the two machines.
• Measurement of bacterial contamination in an old, non-filtrated operating room versus a new, filtrated operating room.
• Analysis of air samples from laminar air flow systems as a control.

Main Results:

• Both machines yielded similar results, indicating general reliability.
• The RB machine demonstrated greater sensitivity in detecting airborne bacteria compared to the MK II.
• Operating rooms with filtrated air exhibited significantly lower bacterial contamination (40 +/- 36 bacteria/m3) than those without (199 +/- 173 bacteria/m3).
• Laminar air flow systems showed very low bacterial counts (1.3 +/- 1.5 bacteria/m3).

Conclusions:

• The RB air-bacteria counting machine is a sensitive and reliable tool for monitoring operating room environments.
• Implementing air filtration systems is highly effective in reducing airborne bacterial loads in operating rooms.
• Maintaining stringent air quality standards, particularly through filtration and laminar air flow, is crucial for minimizing infection risks.