• Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Oct 2007

    Multicenter Study

    Decreasing airborne contamination levels in high-risk hospital areas using a novel mobile air-treatment unit.

    • V Bergeron, G Reboux, J L Poirot, and N Laudinet.
    • Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, Lyon, France. vance.bergeron@ens-lyon.fr
    • Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2007 Oct 1;28(10):1181-6.

    ObjectiveTo evaluate the performance of a new mobile air-treatment unit that uses nonthermal-plasma reactors for lowering the airborne bioburden in critical hospital environments and reducing the risk of nosocomial infection due to opportunistic airborne pathogens, such as Aspergillus fumigatus.MethodsTests were conducted in 2 different high-risk hospital areas: an operating room under simulated conditions and rooms hosting patients in a pediatric hematology ward. Operating room testing provided performance evaluations of removal rates for airborne contamination (ie, particles larger than 0.5 microm) and overall lowering of the airborne bioburden (ie, colony-forming units of total mesophilic flora and fungal flora per cubic meter of air). In the hematology service, opportunistic and nonpathogenic airborne fungal levels in a patient's room equipped with an air-treatment unit were compared to those in a control room.ResultsIn an operating room with a volume of 118 m(3), the time required to lower the concentration of airborne particles larger than 0.5 microm by 90% was decreased from 12 minutes with the existing high-efficiency particulate air filtration system to less than 2 minutes with the units tested, with a 2-log decrease in the steady-state levels of such particles (P<.01). Concurrently, total airborne mesophilic flora concentrations dropped by a factor of 2, and the concentrations of fungal species were reduced to undetectable levels (P<.01). The 12-day test period in the hematology ward revealed a significant reduction in airborne fungus levels (P<.01), with average reductions of 75% for opportunistic species and 82% for nonpathogenic species.ConclusionOur data indicate that the mobile, nonthermal-plasma air treatment unit tested in this study can rapidly reduce the levels of airborne particles and significantly lower the airborne bioburden in high-risk hospital environments.

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