Evaluation of the risk of infection through exposure to aerosols and spatters in dentistry.

Background: Many dental procedures produce extensive aerosols and splatters that are routinely contaminated with microorganisms.

Methods: Air containing blood-bearing aerosols and surfaces contaminated by sedimenting blood particulate was sampled in 5 different dental cubicles. To assess contamination by blood particulate, the concentration of hemoglobin (Hb) in the air and on the sedimentation surfaces was determined.

Evaluation of environmental contamination by glutaraldehyde in an outpatient facility for digestive endoscopy in an Italian hospital.

The potential harmful effects of glutaraldehyde on human health are well known, and in recent years various new substitutes for this compound have been proposed for the disinfection and thorough sterilization of medical instruments. Nevertheless, glutaraldehyde is still widely used in hospital environments. In order to evaluate environmental contamination by glutaraldehyde vapours, the rooms of a hospital out-patient department of digestive endoscopy were monitored in 2005; a total of 52 samples were taken.

A new microbiological problem in intensive care units: environmental contamination by MRSA with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides.

The present study evaluated the percentage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides in four intensive care units (ICU) by means of environmental sampling of air and representative surfaces. The total bacterial count was taken and possible S. aureus strains were subsequently isolated.

A problem of hospital hygiene: the presence of aspergilli in hospital wards with different air-conditioning features.

A total of 1,030 microbiological samples were taken in 3 hospital wards with different air-conditioning features: no conditioning system (ward A), a conditioning system equipped with minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) filters (ward B), and a conditioning system thoroughly maintained and equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters (absolute) (ward C). The air in each ward was sampled, and the bacterial and fungal concentrations were determined by active and passive methods. The concentration of fungi on surfaces was also determined.