Operating Room and Hospital Air Environment

Area of Science:

• Healthcare-associated infection control
• Environmental microbiology
• Hospital hygiene

Background:

• Surgical-site infections (SSIs) are a significant concern in healthcare settings.
• Reducing intraoperative environmental contamination is a key strategy for preventing SSIs.
• Understanding airborne contamination levels across different hospital areas is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the operating room (OR) contamination rate within a hospital.
• To compare OR contamination levels with those in other hospital areas.
• To identify high-contamination zones that may impact patient safety.

Main Methods:

• 190 air settle plates (trypsin soy agar) were used to sample 19 diverse hospital locations.
• Sampling occurred in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative settings, including ORs, wards, and support areas.
• Colony counts were performed after incubation to calculate average colony-forming units (CFUs) per plate per hour.

Main Results:

• Operating room environments consistently showed low colony-forming units (CFUs).
• The highest contamination levels were found in the OR locker room (28 CFUs/plate/hour).
• Areas like orthopedic wards (10.0 CFUs), VIP wards (17.0 CFUs), and post-anesthesia care units (9.6 CFUs) exhibited higher contamination than community households.

Conclusions:

• While ORs maintain low contamination, other hospital areas present significant airborne microbial load.
• Environmental sampling is a practical, cost-effective method for monitoring hospital airborne contamination.
• Findings support the need for enhanced hygiene protocols in non-OR patient care and support areas.