[Aseptic tracheobronchial aspiration]

Nosocomial lung superinfection is a frequent feature in ICU hospitalized patients. Up to 60 per cent of these patients may develop pneumonia, depending on the severity of their underlying disease. Necessary tracheobronchial irrigations and succions expose patients requiring mechanical ventilation to a risk of bacterial contamination by water containing infections particles. The "no touch method", elsewhere described, using disposable material and serious asepsis, try to diminish rate of one of the risk factors for acquired pneumonia. The use of a single-dose plastic bottle of sterile normal saline (solution ophta-ORL Faure) for tracheal irrigation is a clean and very low cost-price method, that minimize the risk of extrinsic contamination.