Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan;63(1):e12234.
doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12234.

Impact of negative pressure system on microbiological air quality in a Central Sterile Supply Department

Alda Graciele Claudio Dos Santos Almeida  1 , Camila Quartim de Moraes Bruna  2 , Giovana Abrahão de Araújo Moriya  3 , Alessandra Navarini  4 , Suzethe Matiko Sasagawa  5 , Lycia M J Mimica  4 , Valderez Gambale  6 , Kazuko Uchikawa Graziano  2
Affiliations

Impact of negative pressure system on microbiological air quality in a Central Sterile Supply Department

Alda Graciele Claudio Dos Santos Almeida et al. J Occup Health. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: Guidelines recommend that the cleaning area in a Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) maintain a negative pressure of the environmental air, but how much this system can impact the contamination of the air by bioaerosols in the area is not known. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of negative pressure on CSSD by evaluating the microbiological air quality of this sector.

Methods: Microbiological air samples were collected in two CSSD in the same hospital: one with and one without a negative air pressure system. Outdoor air samples were collected as a comparative control. Andersen six-stage air sampler was used to obtain the microbiological air samples.

Results: The concentration of bioaerosols in the CSSD without negative pressure was 273.15 and 206.71 CFU/m3 , while in the CSSD with negative pressure the concentration of bioaerosols was 116.96 CFU/m3 and 131.10 CFU/m3 . The number of isolated colonies in the negative pressure CSSD was significantly lower (P = .01541).

Conclusion: The findings showed that the negative pressure system in the CSSD cleaning area contributed to the quantitative reduction in bioaerosols. However, the concentration of bioaerosols was lower than that established in the guideline for indoor air quality of many countries. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that CSSDs which do not have a negative pressure system in their cleaning area offer occupational risk.

Keywords: Central Sterile Supply Department; aerosols; air microbiology; air pressure; indoor air quality; occupational exposure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No ethical approval and informed consent were required, as there were no humans involved in the samples. Neither clinical trial nor animal study were applicable. Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest to declare by any author.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. World Health Organization . Infection prevention and control epidemic – and pandemic prone acute respiratory infections in health care. Geneve, 2014. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/112656/9789241507134_eng... - PubMed
    1. Brągoszewska E. The dose of fungal aerosol inhaled by workers in a waste‐sorting plant in Poland: a case study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(1):177. 10.3390/ijerph17010177 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation . ANSI/AAMI ST79:2017 Comprehensive guide to steam sterilization and sterility assurance in health care facilities.
    1. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air‐Conditioning Engineers ‐ ASHRAE . HVAC Design Manual for Hospital and Clinics. 2nd ed. Atlanta; ASHRAE; 2013.
    1. American Institute of Architects – AIA . Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Health Care Facilities. Washington: AIA; 2001.