Effectiveness of a plasma treatment device on microbial air quality in a hospital ward, monitored by culture

M Fennelly; D J O'Connor; S Hellebust; N Murphy; C Casey; J Eustace; B J Plant; J R Sodeau; M B Prentice

doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2020.11.006

Effectiveness of a plasma treatment device on microbial air quality in a hospital ward, monitored by culture

J Hosp Infect. 2021 Feb:108:109-112. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.11.006. Epub 2020 Nov 12.

Authors

M Fennelly¹, D J O'Connor², S Hellebust³, N Murphy⁴, C Casey⁵, J Eustace⁶, B J Plant⁷, J R Sodeau³, M B Prentice⁸

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Department of Pathology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; School of Chemistry, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. Electronic address: mehael.fennelly@umail.ucc.ie.
² School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
³ Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; School of Chemistry, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
⁴ Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland.
⁵ College of Medicine and Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
⁶ Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility-Cork, Cork, Ireland.
⁷ Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland; College of Medicine and Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
⁸ Department of Pathology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; College of Medicine and Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.

Abstract

This study analysed the effectiveness of plasma treatment on airborne bacteria and surface counts during a 14-day intervention within a four-bedded bay in an adult respiratory ward at Cork University Hospital, Ireland. One-hundred-litre air samples were collected twice daily every weekday for 4 weeks, with settle plates and surface swabs. The plasma treatment did not have an effect on airborne bacteria and fungi that was detectable by culture. However, the possibility that culture-based sampling may be insufficiently sensitive to detect an effect, or that the duration of the study was insufficient for plasma treatment to affect a complex environment, cannot be excluded.

Keywords: Air sampling; Airborne; Continuous monitoring; Environment.

MeSH terms

Air Microbiology*
Air Pollution / prevention & control*
Environmental Monitoring
Fungi
Hospitals*
Ireland
Plasma Gases*

Substances

Plasma Gases