Assessing the Utility of Outlet Filters in the Ventilators of ICU Patients
Journal Title: Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research - Year 2019, Vol 13, Issue 2
Abstract
ABSTRACT Introduction: Intensive Care Units (ICU) host a large percentage of all nosocomial infections in any hospital. The air quality in such an environment plays a pivotal role in the dissemination of such infections. Ventilated patients expel aerosols containing nosocomial infectious agents from the ventilator. Aim: To assess the value of placing a Heat and Moisture Exchanger (HME) filter at the outlet of ventilators to reduce the Total Viable Count (TVC) in the air and improve air quality. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in two phases, of which Phase I was conducted without a filter and Phase II was conducted after placing HME filters in the outlet of the ventilators; while sampling locations remained the same. In both phases, active and passive sampling was done on a total of 120 samples which included 60 samples from each phase. The index of microbiological air contamination (passive sampling) and surface air sample TVC (active sampling) were calculated to assess the level of microbiological contamination. Results: The mean results of passive sampling were 1547.41 CFU/dm2/hour in phase I and 761.49 CFU/dm2/hour in phase II. In active sampling, the mean results were 88.48 CFU/m3 in Phase I and 51.71 CFU/m3 in Phase II. Conclusion: The placement of HME filters at the outlet of ventilators has significantly reduced TVC counts in both active and passive sampling in Phase II using the filters as compared to Phase I. Other measures should be undertaken to further reduce TVC counts to accepted safety standards.
Authors and Affiliations
Akshita Lalendran, Aditya Lal Vallath, Abhijeet Mane, KK Lahiri
Impact of Upper Limb Musculoskeletal Disorders on Quality of Life in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
ABSTRACT Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic multisystem disease characterised by persistent hyperglycaemia that lead to a wide range of complications, including Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD). Quality Of...
Analysis of Cough in Post-stroke Individuals with Dysphagia
ABSTRACT Introduction: Stroke is considered to be one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality globally, associated with numerous medical complications leading to an extended hospital stay and significant health ca...
Citral, A Monoterpene Protect Against High Glucose Induced Oxidative Injury in HepG2 Cell In Vitro-An Experimental Study
Introduction: Diabetes mellitus, a major metabolic disorder associated with hyperglycaemia is one of the leading cause of death in many developed countries. However, use of natural phytochemicals have been proved to have...
Association Between Serum Cystatin C and Creatinine in Chronic Kidney Disease Subjects Attending a Tertiary Health Care Centre
Introduction: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is an emerging health problem due to the increasing prevalence of conditions like diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Most patients are diagnosed during the later stages of CKD...
Correlation of Pregnancy Associated Plasma Protein A and Zinc with Calculated Risk Ratio of Dual Test
Introduction: First trimester screening by dual test is the most preferred method of antenatal screening. The detection rate of foetal aneuploidy using dual test is 95%. This test uses maternal serum free β human Chorion...