Đánh giá tổng số vi khuẩn hiếu khí trong không khí tại phòng hồi sức tích cực và phòng hậu phẫu tại một số cơ sở y tế ở Việt Nam

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are a serious global public health issue, significantly impacting patient outcomes and healthcare costs. The air quality within healthcare facilities, particularly in critical areas, plays a crucial role in the transmission of airborne microorganisms and the prevalence of HAIs. Intensive care units (ICUs) and post-operative recovery rooms house vulnerable patients, making them highly susceptible to infections. Despite their criticality, specific microbial limits for the air environment in these special care rooms in Vietnam are not yet well-established. This study aimed to assess the current status of the total aerobic bacterial count (TABC) in the air of ICUs and post-operative rooms across selected Vietnamese hospitals to inform the development of appropriate microbial limits, thereby enhancing hospital air environment safety and reducing hospital-acquired infection risks.

Healthcare professionals, hospital administrators, public health policymakers, and researchers focused on infection control and environmental health in healthcare settings.

This cross-sectional descriptive study investigated the total aerobic bacterial count (TABC) in the hospital air environment of intensive care units (ICUs) and post-operative rooms in 17 hospitals across Vietnam during 2022. The primary goal was to provide data for proposing microbial limits in these special care areas to mitigate the risk of hospital-acquired infection. A total of 680 air samples were collected from two ICUs and two post-operative rooms in each hospital, using the agar plate technique (Koch method) for TABC determination. Data analysis included statistical comparisons of TABC levels based on room type and hospital ownership (public vs. private) against WHO recommendations. The study revealed that the rate of samples meeting WHO guidelines (≤ 200 CFU/m³) was higher in ICUs compared to post-operative rooms (OR=1.5, p<0.05). Notably, private hospitals exhibited a significantly higher rate of qualified samples in their ICUs than public hospitals (p<0.001), a trend also observed in post-operative rooms. The third quartile (Q3) values for TABC were 667 CFU/m³ for ICUs and 564 CFU/m³ for post-operative rooms. Based on these findings and international guidelines, the study proposes a microbial limit of 600 CFU/m³ for TABC in both ICUs and post-operative rooms in the Vietnamese healthcare context. This research offers critical insights into the existing air quality conditions in high-risk hospital settings in Vietnam. The proposed microbial limits serve as a foundational step towards establishing national standards, which can significantly improve infection control practices, enhance patient safety in ICUs and post-operative rooms, and contribute to the overall well-being of patients and healthcare staff.