Bacterial Colonization of Silver-Additive Ventilator Circuit in Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Mechanical ventilation is a significant risk factor for developing ventilator-associated pneumonia. Although silver-coated endotracheal tubes have been shown to reduce the bacterial burden, the efficacy of silver-based ion additive ventilator circuits in reducing bacterial colonization remains unclear.

Methods: This single-site, randomized controlled trial compared the incidence of bacterial contamination between a silver-additive ventilator circuit and a ventilator circuit that did not have a silver additive. Bacterial samples were collected from the inspiratory limb and Y-adaptor of the circuit and analyzed using culture and identification methods.

Results: Bacterial growth was observed in all samples from the control group and in 93.7% and 81.2% of inspiratory limb and Y-adaptor samples, respectively, from the study group. The colony counts in the inspiratory limb samples were significantly different between the groups, with a higher proportion of undesirable colony counts in the control group compared with the study group. No significant difference between the groups was observed in the colony counts in the Y-adaptor samples.

Conclusion: The use of a silver-additive ventilator circuit may reduce bacterial circuit colonization. However, further research with larger sample sizes and more diverse patient populations is necessary to confirm these findings.

Trial Registration: ClinicalTrial.gov: NCT04927806.