Efficiency Evaluation of Different Cleaning Methods for Small-volume Nebulizers

• Main Authors: Tien-Pei Fang, 方瑱珮
• Other Authors: C.Y. Horng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/70877841106261302494

碩士 === 長榮大學 === 職業安全與衛生研究所 === 95 === The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cleaning efficiency of three common cleaning agents (75％ alcohol, 3％ hydrogen peroxide, sterile distilled water) with various cleaning procedures (10-second mechanical cleaning or 5-, 10-, 20-, or 30-minute immersion) on small-volume nebulizers which were contaminated with high concentration of Escherichia coli By using spectrophotometry, we compared the percent reduction of microbes before and after cleaning to compare the cleaning efficiency of different methods. The results did not indicate significant difference between 75％ alcohol and 3％ hydrogen peroxide in cleaning efficiency (p = 0.534); however, both agents were significantly better than sterile distilled water for microbial control (p ＜ 0.05 in both comparisons). There was insignificant difference among cleaning procedures for 75％ alcohol and 3％ hydrogen peroxide. Sterile distilled water, however, showed a significant deviation of cleaning efficiency among different procedures. For critically ill patients in the intensive care unit and immucompromised patients, contaminations by microganisms must be avoided in order to prevent the pneumonia risk. Considering both convenience and safety, 75％ alcohol or 3％ hydrogen peroxide, either 10-second mechanical cleaning or 5-minute immersion, should be applied for disinfections during the treatment intervals in order to reduce the chance of small-volume nebulizer contamination.