OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the disinfectant effectiveness of alcohol 70% (w/v) using friction, without previous cleaning, on work surfaces, as a concurrent disinfecting procedure in Health Services. METHOD: An experimental, randomized and single-blinded laboratory study was undertaken. The samples were enamelled surfaces, intentionally contaminated with Serratia marcescens microorganisms ATCC 14756 106 CFU/mL with 10% of human saliva added, and were submitted to the procedure of disinfection WITHOUT previous cleaning. The results were compared to disinfection preceded by cleaning. RESULTS: There was a reduction of six logarithms of the initial microbial population, equal in the groups WITH and WITHOUT previous cleaning (p=0.440) and a residual microbial load ≤ 102 CFU. CONCLUSION: The research demonstrated the acceptability of the practice evaluated, bringing an important response to the area of health, in particular to Nursing, which most undertakes procedures of concurrent cleaning /disinfecting of these work surfaces.

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.

Key words: Hand Desinfection; Tea Tree Oil; Triclosan; Infection Control; Nursing

The Influence of Environmental Temperature and Air Humidity on the Maintenance of Sterility of Surgical Instruments Sterilized in Different Wraps - Volume 33 Issue 12 - Camila Quartim de Moraes Bruna, Flávia Morais Gomes Pinto, Kazuko Uchikawa Graziano