Application of simplified bioclean apparatuses for treatment of acute leukemia.

We used a portable horizontal laminar-air-flow clean bed and an open horizontal laminar-air-flow fan (clean wall unit) for treating patients with acute leukemia. The level of cleanliness as shown in the nonviable and viable particle counts was class 100 and class 1,000 at the head and foot, respectively, of the bed in the clean-bed rooms, while it was class 100 and class 10,000 respectively, in the clean-wall-unit rooms. The level of cleanliness in the open wards, on the other hand, was class 1,000,000. The incidence of infectious complications in the clean-bed rooms was 3.1/100 days when the granulocyte count was 1,000/mm3 or less, 3.9/100 days when the count was 500/mm3 or less and 6.1/100 days when it was 100/mm3 or less. In the clean-wall-unit rooms, these values were 3.1, 3.7 and 7.1, respectively, while in the open wards they were 4.6, 6.1 and 15.0. Thus, it was ascertained that, as the granulocyte count decreased, the incidence of infectious complications became significantly higher in the open wards than in the clean-bed rooms or the clean-wall-unit rooms. No complication of pneumonia was found in 37 patients with acute leukemia in the clean-bed rooms or in 40 in the clean-wall-unit rooms. Among 36 patients treated in the open wards, on the other hand, the complication of pneumonia was found in four. From the above results, it is believed that the use of clean-bed rooms or clean-wall-unit rooms is an extremely effective supplementary treatment method for preventing respiratory tract infection complications in patients with acute leukemia.