Microbiology Department, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
J Hosp Infect. 2011 Jul;78(3):194-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2011.03.003. Epub 2011 Apr 17.
Environmental contamination is thought to play a role in the spread of infection in hospitals and there has been increased interest in novel air disinfection systems in preventing infection. In this study the efficacy of a hydroxyl radical air disinfection system (Inov8 unit) in reducing the number of airborne bacteria was assessed in a clinical setting. Environmental contamination was assessed using settle plates and air samples in three settings: (1) non-clinical room; (2) non-clinical room with defined activity; and (3) single intensive care unit cubicle. A comparison of air counts and environmental contamination rates was made with the Inov8 units on and off. The Inov8 unit produced an overall reduction in both air sample and settle plate counts in each setting (P<0.001, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). There was a mean reduction in air sample counts of 26%, 39% and 55% for settings 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The corresponding reductions in settle plate counts were 35%, 62% and 54%. These results suggest that this type of novel air disinfection may have a role in improving air quality and reducing environmental contamination within clinical isolation rooms. Further work is required to assess the effect on specific pathogens, and to establish whether this will reduce the risks of patients and/or healthcare workers acquiring such pathogens from the environment.
环境污染物被认为在医院感染的传播中起作用，因此人们越来越关注新型空气消毒系统在预防感染方面的作用。本研究评估了一种羟基自由基空气消毒系统（Inov8 装置）在临床环境中减少空气中细菌数量的效果。通过沉降平板和空气样本在三种环境下（1.非临床房间；2.有明确活动的非临床房间；3.单人重症监护病房）评估环境污染物。Inov8 装置开启和关闭时，对空气计数和环境污染率进行了比较。Inov8 装置在每种环境下均使空气样本和沉降平板计数总体减少（P<0.001，Wilcoxon 符号秩检验）。环境 1、2 和 3 中空气样本计数的平均减少率分别为 26%、39%和 55%。相应的沉降平板计数减少率分别为 35%、62%和 54%。这些结果表明，这种新型空气消毒方法可能有助于改善临床隔离室内的空气质量并减少环境污染。需要进一步研究以评估其对特定病原体的影响，并确定这是否会降低患者和/或医护人员从环境中获得此类病原体的风险。
