How Does Infection Spread in a Hospital?

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In this post we’ll discuss how infections spread in hospitals and explore some ways you can prevent and control infections in your hospital.

Ways Infections Spread in Hospitals

Most hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) spread in one of two ways:

  • As a result of treatment.
  • From person-to-person, or via another communicable disease vector (pathogens on a surface, or in the air, for example).

You can read our guide to the most common hospital-acquired infections.

How Infections Spread as a Result of Treatment

Some hospital-acquired infections can spread as a direct result of certain medical treatments.

Examples include:

  • Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) – Invasive procedures involve making incisions in a patient’s skin. Though such procedures are performed in highly controlled sterile environments, it’s possible for incision wounds to get contaminated by microorganisms from the patient’s own body, or from outside sources.
  • Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) – diff bacteria can exist harmlessly in the bowel. But a course of antibiotics can sometimes cause a bacterial imbalance in the gut, triggering a CDI.

How Communicable Diseases Spread in Hospitals

A patient or a member of staff might bring an existing infection into a healthcare setting such as a hospital. Or a patient may develop an infection during their hospital stay while receiving treatment for an unrelated condition.

These are communicable diseases, and they can spread in a number of ways:

  • From Person-to-Person – Coughs, sneezes, and even touches can spread viruses and bacteria from person to person. CDI, for example, is a common hospital-acquired infection because a major symptom is diarrhoea, which can act as a vector for the spread of bacteria. And of course, during the 2020 pandemic it became clear just how quickly Covid-19 can spread from person-to-person in a hospital.
  • Indirect Contact – Viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens can survive for hours, or even days, on surfaces and inanimate objects. A patient may cough or sneeze into their hand. If they then use a doorhandle or a light switch, any staff member or patient who subsequently touches that item may pick up their germs. And if they then touch their mouth, nose, or eyes, they may introduce the germs into their bloodstream.
  • Contamination – Finally, eating or drinking contaminated food or water can spread communicable diseases. E. coli, for example, is a common hospital-acquired infection, and it can be contracted from eating undercooked meat.

How To Prevent The Spread of Diseases in a Hospital

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued recommendations that could help prevent SSIs in hospitals. These include a series of steps for the preoperative phase (including showering and nasal decolonisation), recommendations for staff and patient theatre wear, and a series of checks to make both before and after the procedure. Read the full NICE guidelines for preventing SSIs here.

When it comes to controlling communicable diseases, hospitals must follow the standard infection control precautions (SICPs):

These include:

  • Patient placement – Perform a comprehensive infection risk assessment for each patient, and isolate patients with a high risk of cross-infection.
  • Hand hygiene – Follow a specific hand-washing technique to thoroughly clean your hands at key touchpoints – such as before and after interacting with a patient and their surroundings. Also advise patients to follow good hand hygiene guidelines and provide plenty of handwashing stations throughout your hospital.
  • Personal protective equipment (PPE) – There should be clear procedures for what PPE to use and when. You should also have procedures for storing, applying, removing, and disposing of PPE.
  • Cleaning – Commit to safe management of both care equipment and the care environment. Thorough cleaning should take place regularly and on an ongoing basis. You should also have specialist procedures for cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization in the event of outbreaks, and for high-risk equipment and environments.

Read our full guide to standard infection control precautions in hospitals and healthcare settings.

Control the Spread of Hospital-Acquired Infections

At Cairn Technology, we’ve been helping both NHS and private hospitals prevent and control infections for over 20 years.

We can help you with:

To discuss how we can help you prevent and control infection in your hospital, get in touch to talk to one of our friendly experts today.

 

Entonox Monitoring in Maternity Departments

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Entonox – also referred to as N20, or “gas and air” – is a painkiller that’s used in multiple healthcare settings, including maternity departments. Though it provides effective short-term pain relief, there are some risks to using Entonox.

Short Term Entonox Exposure Risks

Short-term exposure to Entonox can cause dizziness, sleepiness, nausea, and hallucinations.

Long Term Entonox Exposure Risks

Long-term exposure to Entonox can affect the body’s ability to absorb vitamin B12, which can cause damage to nerves and red blood cells. This can lead to neurological conditions, infertility, and even miscarriage.

How Big Are The Risks of Entonox Exposure?

If patients use Entonox only as advised, then the short-term effects should pass quickly, and there should be no long-term health risks. However, there are concerns about hospital staff’s occupational exposure to Entonox – particularly among midwives in maternity care.

Entonox Exposure Risks for Midwives

The risks are particularly high for midwives not just because of the widespread use of Entonox in maternity care, but also because of the nature of their work. It’s common for midwives to work 12-hour shifts, several days in a row. To protect patient privacy, they’ll work with the door closed, which will lead to poor air circulation. Plus, compared to other areas of the hospital, labour wards are less likely to be fitted with sophisticated air purification systems.

How to Manage the Risk of Entonox Exposure in Maternity Departments

Maternity wards should routinely test their staff for their exposure to potentially hazardous substances like Entonox.

In March 2023, the NHS released new guidance on minimising long-term exposure to nitrous oxide in healthcare settings.

The guidance suggests that hospitals should only stop using Entonox as “a measure of last resort and only following appropriate risk assessment, clinical consultation, and mitigation.” Their recommendations include:

  • Environmental ventilation.
  • Staff training on positioning relative to exhaust N20, COSHH risk assessment and controls, and training in administration of Entonox.
  • Awareness and review of monitoring results.

 

The efficacy of these mitigations must be demonstrated by monitoring exposure to N20.

How We Can Help You Reduce Occupational Entonox Exposure in Your Maternity Department

At Cairn Technology, we routinely support both NHS and private hospitals.

Here’s how we can help you control your staff’s occupational exposure to Entonox in your maternity department:

  • Exposure Monitoring – Cairn Technology adopt a personal sampling technique to monitor your staff’s exposure levels to N20. Once used, personal passive sampling tubes are analysed followed by a comprehensive report, including recommendations and actions you can take to reduce exposure risks in your hospital.

Get in touch to discuss how we can help you manage the risks of Entonox in your maternity department.

What Is The Purpose of Exposure Monitoring via Air Sampling?

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The air in hospitals and healthcare settings can contain numerous potentially hazardous substances.

Hazardous Substances in Hospitals and Healthcare

Common hazardous substances found in hospitals might include:

Short-term exposure to these substances can cause a range of symptoms, including dizziness, nausea, headaches, tightness of chest, and breathing difficulties. Long-term exposure can result in more serious health conditions, including chronic respiratory problems, and even some cancers.

What is the Purpose of Exposure Monitoring via Air Sampling?

Exposure monitoring via air sampling ensures that hospitals and healthcare settings fulfil their COSHH obligations wherever staff are exposed to hazardous substances.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) is a UK law requiring employers to prevent or reduce workers’ exposure to certain hazardous substances. The law regulates workplace exposure limits (WELs) for numerous substance.

The problem is that most of these substances are colourless and odourless. Staff and patients may get exposed to harmful quantities without even realising it. This also makes leaks harder to detect, which means staff and patients may inhale harmful substances for days, weeks, or months before anyone realises there’s a problem.

Plus, in certain healthcare settings, there may be consistently low levels of these substances in the atmosphere. Staff may experience a feeling of discomfort without quite recognising that something’s wrong. But over the long-term, their exposure to these substances may result in some serious health conditions.

Air Sampling vs. Air Monitoring

Air sampling and air monitoring are two techniques that air quality consultants might use to test staff’s exposure to hazardous substances.

What is Air Sampling?

The air quality consultant takes a sample of the air in an environment. This provides a snapshot of the air quality as it was at that time. Air quality consultants will likely take samples from numerous locations around a healthcare facility so as to identify any high-risk areas.

What is Air Monitoring?

This is a slower process that takes place over a longer period of time. Air monitoring provides insights into how the air quality in an environment changes over time, which can help air quality consultants determine the root causes of contamination events.

For more information, you can read our essential introduction to how the air quality monitoring process works.

Specialist Workplace Exposure Monitoring Services

We offer specialist workplace exposure monitoring for hospitals and other healthcare settings. We’ll help you ensure you fulfil your COSHH obligations wherever your staff are exposed to hazardous substances.

Our air quality consultants employ both continuous monitoring and personal sampling techniques. With this approach, we can demonstrate how levels in the workplace atmosphere vary over the monitoring period. We’ll then prepare a comprehensive report, including detailed discussions and actionable recommendations based on our findings.

We have extensive experience in working closely yet unobtrusively with:

  • Operating theatre departments
  • Endoscopy suites, and endoscope decontamination units
  • Pathology laboratories
  • Dental suites
  • Maternity departments
  • Fracture clinics and orthotic laboratories
  • Radiology departments

We can also monitor for traffic pollution in public areas of your hospital, including your wards and waiting rooms.

Want to learn more about our workplace exposure monitoring services? Talk to one of our air quality experts today, or get in touch for a free quote.

Why is Air Quality Monitoring Important?

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Everyone knows that breathing hazardous substances or polluted air is bad for your health. But few seem to realise just how serious air pollution can be, and just how many hazardous substances can linger in the air we breathe.

Hazardous and Toxic Air Pollutants

The air can be full of hazardous and toxic air pollutants that are known or suspected to be harmful to health and the environment.

Examples include:

  • Particulate matter
  • Nitrogen oxides
  • Ammonia
  • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  • Sulphur dioxide

What Causes Hazardous Air Pollutants?

Many of these pollutants are caused by human activity. Particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, for example, are created by road traffic and by certain industrial and agricultural processes. Ammonia is released by the spreading of fertilisers, and by certain waste management processes. VOCs are found in many everyday cleaning and cosmetic products.

The Impact of Pollutants on Human Health

When inhaled, hazardous and toxic air pollutants can affect human health in a number of ways.

Particulate matter, for example, can be so small that, when inhaled, they enter the bloodstream. And once they’re in the bloodstream, they may end up lodged in the heart, lungs, brain, and other organs. So prolonged exposure to particulate matter can aggravate existing conditions, including asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions.  Long-term exposure can lead to more serious, or even terminal, lung conditions.

Inhaling VOCs can also exacerbate allergies, asthma, and respiratory conditions, while causing headaches, nausea, and eyes, nose and throat irritation. VOCs can even react with certain other airborne chemicals to produce formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen.

How Widespread is Air Pollution?

According to the latest World Health organisation report, 99% of the world’s population live in areas where air pollution exceeds their guideline limits.

Air pollution can vary from place to place. We recently assessed the worst parts of the UK for air pollution, for example. The weather can also have an effect on air pollution. For instance, pollution levels may be higher in the colder months of the year.

Indoor Air Pollution

But air pollution can also affect indoor environments. High concentrations of VOCs can lead to “sick building syndrome”, whereby simply existing in a building can lead to a number of health problems.

Certain workplaces also carry unique air pollution risks. One recent report found that 25% of UK hospitals are located in areas with dangerously high levels of air pollution from traffic and industry. But inside hospitals you’ll find numerous potentially hazardous you won’t find in any other workplace, These might include Isoflurane, Sevoflurane, Penthrox, Entonox and inhalable and respirable dust.

This is Why Air Quality Monitoring is Important

Air pollution is all around us, indoors and outdoors. Even short-term exposure can lead to some serious health problems. Long-term exposure could prove fatal.

But many of the pollutants we’ve discussed in this post are colourless, odourless, or so small that they’re invisible to the human eye.

But with air quality monitoring, you can assess the levels of pollutants in your workplace. And once you understand the levels, and what might be causing them, you can act to improve the air quality for everyone.

Learn more about the work of an air quality consultant. You can also read our essential introduction to how the air quality monitoring procedure works.

Specialist Air Quality Monitoring Services For Hospitals and Healthcare

UK law regulates workplace exposure limits (WELs) for numerous substance.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) is a UK law requiring employers to prevent or reduce workers’ exposure to certain hazardous substances. We offer specialist workplace exposure monitoring to help you fulfil your COSHH obligations wherever staff are exposed to hazardous substances in your hospital.

We employ both continuous monitoring and personal sampling techniques to prepare a comprehensive report that includes detailed discussions and actionable recommendations based on our findings.

A hospital grade air purifier can help you quickly and thoroughly improve the air quality in any area of your hospital. We stock a range of hospital-grade Blueair HealthProtectTM air purifiers fitted with advanced HEPASilent technology that can catch 99.97% of harmful or toxic particles down to 0.1 microns.

Want to learn more about how we can help you improve air quality in your workplace? Talk to one of our air quality experts today, or get in touch for a free quote.

 

Chemical Hazards in Hospitals – Examples and Control

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Hazardous chemicals are common in healthcare settings. Short- and long-term exposure to these chemicals can pose health risks to staff, patients, visitors, contractors, and other members of the public.

In this post we’ll list some of the common chemical hazards in hospitals, and discuss ways you can prevent or reduce exposure levels in your hospital or healthcare setting.

Common Sources of Hazardous Chemicals in Hospitals

Some of these chemicals are used as part of treatments, either as anaesthetics or as fixatives. Others are used as part of infection prevention and control processes, to sterilise and disinfect surfaces and equipment. Some are by-products of healthcare procedures.

Hazardous Chemicals Used in Patient Treatment

Many of the hazardous chemicals used in patient treatment are used as anaesthetics. Examples include sevoflurane, isoflurane, Penthrox and Entonox. Prolonged exposure to these chemicals can be harmful to health.

For example, the symptoms of sevoflurane exposure can include confusion, nausea, breathing difficulties, blurred vision, dizziness, agitation, and loss of consciousness. Prolonged exposure in the long-term can lead to liver problems, heart problems, blood haemorrhages, and asthma.

Hazardous Chemicals Used in Infection Prevention and Control

Cleaning is an essential part of infection prevention and control in hospitals. Yet many of the chemicals used in hospital-grade cleaning substances can be harmful to health. Cleaning products can contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Short-term exposure to high concentrations of these chemicals can result in:

  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Eyes, nose and throat irritation
  • Exacerbation of allergies, asthma, and respiratory conditions

Long-term chronic exposure can increase the risk of liver and kidney damage, and even certain cancers.

Specialist healthcare decontamination procedures can also create harmful chemicals. For example, some disinfectants used in endoscopy departments are based on chlorine-containing compounds. Others are based on peracetic and acetic acid, which can be harmful if inhaled.

Hazardous Chemicals as By-Products of Treatments

The surgical smoke generated by electrosurgical devices can contain acrylonitrile and hydrogen cyanide, as well as numerous viruses and bacteria. Exposure to surgical smoke has been linked to viral infections, irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, and asthma-like symptoms.

Finally, it’s common to find inhalable and respirable dust in the atmosphere of fracture clinic plaster rooms and orthotics departments. While this dust might not be a harmful chemical in itself, it is still classed as a hazardous air pollutant. Inhaling it can lead to short-term and long-term respiratory problems.

Preventing and Reducing Your Staff’s Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) is a UK law requiring employers to prevent or reduce workers’ exposure to certain hazardous substances. The law regulates workplace exposure limits (WELs) for numerous substance.

We offer specialist workplace exposure monitoring for hospitals and other healthcare settings. We’ll help you ensure you fulfil your COSHH obligations wherever your staff are exposed to hazardous substances.

Employing both continuous monitoring and personal sampling techniques, we’ll prepare a comprehensive report that includes detailed discussions and actionable recommendations based on our findings.

Want to learn more about our workplace exposure monitoring services? Talk to one of our air quality experts today, or get in touch for a free quote.

 

What is Bioburden? And How to Control It

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What is Bioburden?

Bioburden refers to the number of bacteria or fungal cells living on an unsterilised surface. The term is usually used in reference to medical devices and equipment.

A device’s bioburden level will vary depending on how it was manufactured, including the amount of handling that took place during manufacturing. The size and complexity of the device will also affect its bioburden level, as well as the material it’s made from.

How to Measure Bioburden

We measure bioburden in terms of colony-forming units (CFUs). A CFU is an estimate of the number of viable microorganisms found on a sample.

Average Bioburden Levels

Most medical devices will have a bioburden between 0 and 150 CFUs.

Why Bioburden Matters

As a standard infection control precaution, all hospitals and healthcare settings should effectively sterilise all medical devices and equipment according to the manufacturers’ recommendations.

So if you’re going to sterilise your medical equipment anyway, what’s the point of measuring bioburden?

Because the lower a medical device’s bioburden, the more straightforward it will be to sterilise. If a device has a low CFU, it will be easier to remove any toxins left over from the manufacturing process before you use it.

Also, during the sterilisation process, bacteria cells can release a harmful endotoxin. So a lower CFU ensures that the medical device will be as fast, efficient and – most important of all – safe to sterilise as possible.

How to Control Bioburden

In a hospital and healthcare setting, the biggest difference you can make is in buying from manufacturers who put the measures in place to keep their bioburdens as low as possible.

Here are some of the things medical device manufacturers can do to keep their products’ bioburdens as low as possible:

  • Ensure their cleanrooms are strictly controlled for device manufacturing, with high quality air purifiers to remove harmful contaminants from the air.
  • Commit to thorough cleaning routines, effective PPE use, and other standard infection control precautions. Manufacturers should also have policies and procedures in place to avoid overhandling products during the manufacturing process, and to keep them covered as often as possible.
  • Regularly test all production areas for both surface and air particles to measure the effectiveness of the bioburden control measures, and to make changes where necessary.

How We Can Help You Control Bioburden

We offer comprehensive sterile services cleanroom testing and monitoring services, which includes:

  • Active and passive bioburden sampling.
  • Airborne particulate sampling.
  • Instrument and hard-surface bioburden sampling.
  • Endotoxin testing of washed instruments, sterile instruments, and reverse osmosis (RO) water.
  • Air pressure differential testing – to ensure that your air purification systems are working like they should.

Learn more about our sterile services cleanroom testing and monitoring services, and get a quote for a consultation today.

We also specialise in hospital-grade air purifiers. Our Blueair HealthProtect™ air purifiers are fitted with advanced HEPASilent technology capable of trapping and killing 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns.

Take a look at our range of specialist air purification systems for hospitals and healthcare settings.

 

Air Monitoring Equipment: What Instruments & Equipment is Used?

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Air quality consultants will use different air monitoring equipment depending on the type of monitoring they’re doing, and the type of pollutants they’re testing for.

In this post we’ll discuss some of the common instruments and equipment air quality consultants use, and explore the settings in which they might use them.

Types of Air Quality Monitoring

There are two main types of air quality monitoring approaches:

  • Continuous real-time monitoring – this is continuous, long-term monitoring of real-time levels.
  • Periodic monitoring – this is short-term monitoring, usually done on a regular basis – such as part of an annual monitoring regime.

The equipment used for these different forms of monitoring varies, which we’ll discuss in more detail in this post.

Continuous Real-Time Air Monitoring Equipment

Some air monitoring equipment is designed for continuous use. Consultants will install a device in a setting for a long-term period, or sometimes permanently. These devices can give air quality consultants an idea of how pollutant levels change over time, so that occupants can better understand their exposure risks.

For this sort of monitoring, air quality consultants will use dedicated systems that will usually make use of pumps to take samples from the air for testing. They might be able to view the results of their testing in real-time, or they might instead generate periodic reports as the situation requires. Different systems are usually used to test for different pollutants.

Some devices can also warn a building’s occupants if things get critical. Common examples include smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms. These devices continuously monitor spaces for specific pollutants – whether that’s smoke or carbon monoxide – and sound an alarm if they detect harmful levels.

Periodic Air Monitoring Equipment

Some air monitoring equipment can provide an idea of the air quality in a given area at a given time, or over a specific period. For example, an air quality consultant might place a filter or a cannister in an area for a period of time, such as a day, three days, or a week. At the end of this period they will remove the cannister and analyse the build-up of contaminants.

Other light devices can give a more detailed reading of an area’s air quality at that specific moment in time. These devices contain a sensor and a monitor. Air quality consultants will point the sensor at the target area and receive a readout on their monitor.

These devices are useful for showing how pollutant levels vary throughout a setting. For hospitals, for example, they can demonstrate which areas are particularly at risk, to give an idea of which areas should be prioritised for air purification.

What Will an Air Quality Consultant Test For?

Air quality consultants can test for any hazardous air pollutant. This could include:

  • particulate matter
  • dust
  • carbon dioxide
  • nitrous oxide
  • sulphur dioxide
  • volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  • noise levels

In a healthcare setting, air quality consultants might test for specific pollutants including:

Book an Air Quality Consultation Today

We offer workplace air quality monitoring services, specialising in healthcare settings. We’ve helped both NHS and private healthcare settings with bespoke air quality monitoring services tailored to suit their unique requirements.

We can monitor your staff’s exposure to any potentially harmful substances in your workplace. This will help you understand your risk levels, so you can devise an air quality solution that works for you.

Find out more about our Workplace Exposure Monitoring Service, or get in touch to talk to one of our air quality monitoring specialists today.

 

What is NO2 and How Does it Impact Health?

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NO2 is nitrous dioxide. It’s a chemical compound that’s mainly formed in the combustion of fossil fuels, and during certain industrial processes.

In this post we’ll discuss the health impact of NO2, and explore some ways you can improve the air quality in your hospital or healthcare setting.

What Are The Health Risks of NO2 Exposure?

In the short-term, exposure to NO2 can cause inflammation of the airways. This can increase a person’s susceptibility to respiratory infections and allergens. For patients suffering from lung and heart conditions, exposure to NO2 can make existing symptoms worse.

NO2 can also react with oxygen in the atmosphere to form ozone. Ozone gas can trigger asthma attacks, respiratory conditions, and inflammation of the eyes, nose and throat.

Long-term Exposure to NO2 Risks

Long-term exposure to NO2 can cause edema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, leading to bronchitis or pneumonia. Exposure to large amounts of NO2 can be fatal.

Where Does NO2 Come From?

Along with PM2.5, PM10 and other harmful pollutants, NO2 is largely the product of road traffic.

But though NO2 is primarily created by external activity, there are still exposure risks even for people who spend the majority of their time indoors. A 2011 study suggested that improvements to building insulation can result in a greater retention of indoor pollutants such as NO2.

NO2 as an Issue for Hospitals and Healthcare Settings

Most hospitals are located near busy roads, and some are situated close to major industrial areas. As a result, one study found that 25% of hospitals are located in areas with dangerously high air pollution levels.

Due to improvements to car engines and certain other measures, atmospheric NO2 levels have fallen significantly both in the long-term and in recent years. Hospitals can further reduce the levels in their local area through enforcing strict onsite traffic calming measures.

But as we’ve seen, even a small amount of exposure to NO2 can carry a serious health risk, particularly for patients with heart and lung conditions. So hospitals and other healthcare settings should act to improve their indoor air quality.

Improving The Air Quality in Hospitals and Healthcare Settings

An air quality consultation can help hospitals identify the exposure risks to harmful and hazardous air pollutants such as NO2 for staff and patients alike. Following the consultation, hospitals will have a better idea of the measures they can take to manage the risks.

A hospital grade air purifier can help you quickly and thoroughly improve the air quality in your hospital or healthcare setting.

Our Blueair HealthProtectTM air purifiers are fitted with advanced HEPASilent technology. This is capable of catching 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, which includes NO2 gas molecules. Even a small air purifier can completely cycle the air in a room once every 12.5 minutes.

But at the same time, they’ll capture many other hazardous and toxic air pollutants, including particulate matter, microplastics, smoke, dust, and VOCs. And crucially for a hospital, they can also capture and kill 99% of viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms.

Take a look at our specialist air purification systems for hospitals.

What is the Bioburden Limit for Medical Devices?

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When we talk about bioburden, we’re talking about the number of bacterial or fungal cells that live on an unsterilised surface. We measure this in terms of colony-forming units (CFU), and a CFU is an estimate of the number of viable organisms found on a sample.

Read our full guide to what bioburden is, and why it matters.

Bioburden Limits for Medical Devices

Most medical devices will have a bioburden between 0 and 150 CFUs.

What Types of Devices Have a Higher Bioburden?

Medical devices with large, flat surfaces will usually have a higher bioburden than smaller devices, as they provide a larger surface area on which microorganisms can live. Also, microorganisms can live for longer on hard surfaces like plastic and metal, than on porous surfaces like fabric.

Beyond the size and complexity of the device, and the material it’s made from, a device’s actual bioburden will depend on how it was made. The manufacturing process can make a huge difference, including the environmental conditions in which it was made, and the amount of handling that took place during its assembly.

Bioburden Testing of Medical Devices

Bioburden testing will detect the presence of a number of microorganisms, including:

  • Aerobic bacteria
  • Anaerobes
  • Spores
  • Aerobic fungi, such as yeasts and moulds

Hospitals and other healthcare settings will sterilise all medical devices according to the manufacturers’ recommendations as a standard infection control precaution.

So hospitals and healthcare settings won’t usually do their own bioburden testing. Rather, most testing is done during the manufacturing process.

What’s a Reasonable Bioburden Limit for Medical Devices?

When purchasing medical equipment, it’s a good idea to choose medical devices with low bioburdens. The CFU count should be as low to zero as possible. You may wish to avoid purchasing any equipment with a CFU in excess of 100, though sometimes this may not be possible.

Some standards may specify the maximum CFU for medical devices in some settings. The higher a device’s bioburden, the harder it will be to sterilise. And some sterilisation processes can release harmful endotoxins.

So using devices with low CFUs limits the chances of contamination. It can also make your operations more efficient, as your sterilisation processes will be relatively straightforward, and considerably safer. And if a medical device has a low CFU, practitioners will find it much easier to remove any contaminants left over from the manufacturing process before use.

Bioburdens Are A Product of The Manufacturing Process

Regular bioburden testing allows medical device manufacturers to ensure that their manufacturing processes are as safe as possible. If bioburden testing returns high CFUs, then device manufacturers can introduce tighter measures to control contamination in their clean rooms:

Expert Cleanroom Testing and Monitoring Services

At Cairn Technology, we offer comprehensive cleanroom testing and monitoring services.

Our services include:

  • Active and passive bioburden sampling.
  • Airborne particulate sampling.
  • Instrument and hard-surface bioburden sampling.
  • Endotoxin testing of washed instruments, sterile instruments, and reverse osmosis (RO) water.
  • Air pressure differential testing – to ensure that your air purification systems are working as effectively as possible.

Learn more about our sterile services cleanroom testing and monitoring services.

Get a quote for a consultation today.

VOCs in Hospitals – Causes, Effects and Solutions

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VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. This is a group of thousands of chemicals, many of which are colourless and odourless.

Depending on the setting, at any one time there could be hundreds of individual VOCs in the air. Though some will be innocuous, many carry certain health risks.

Sources of VOCs

Some VOCs are created by biological processes. Certain plants can produce moulds and other spores, for example. But the majority of VOCs in our atmosphere come from everyday products used in domestic, commercial and healthcare settings.

VOCs might be caused by combustion, such as smoking cigarettes, cooking, or burning candles. They’re found in many paints, air fresheners, cosmetics and cleaning products. They’re also produced by certain electronic devices, such as photocopiers and printers.

VOCs and Indoor Air Quality – What Are the Risks?

Concentrations of VOC in the indoor atmosphere can lead to “sick building syndrome”. In short, this means that simply existing in the building can lead to a number of health conditions.

The health risks VOCs pose depend on their concentration – how many of them are in the air, and how often do we breathe this air? Short-term exposure to high concentrations can result in:

  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Eyes, nose and throat irritation
  • Exacerbation of allergies, asthma, and respiratory conditions

Long-term chronic exposure to VOCs can increase the risk of liver and kidney damage, and even certain cancers.

VOC Levels in Hospitals

VOCs can be particularly prevalent in hospitals and healthcare settings as a by-product of anaesthetic medication and antiseptic solutions. Common VOCs in hospitals include isoflurane, Nitrous Oxide, sevoflurane, chlorine, and formaldehyde.

In one study, more than 40 VOCs were found across six sample sites in a French teaching hospital. The sample sites included a reception hall, a patient room, nursing care, a post-anaesthesia care unit, a parasitology-mycology laboratory, and a flexible endoscope disinfection unit.

Though we’re all at risk to the harmful effects of VOCs, hospitals in particular should work to fight the threat. Both staff and patients will spend long hours, or even days or weeks, in hospital buildings. So if there are any VOCs in the atmosphere, the exposure levels are likely to be high.

Also, many hospital patients have pre-existing heart, lung, and kidney conditions. VOCs could exacerbate their symptoms, or even make their conditions worse.

Ventilation is Key to Managing VOC Concentrations

If you want to address the VOC levels in your hospital, it helps to know the scale of the problem, and the key areas to address. An air quality consultation will help you identify the VOC levels and the exposure risks for staff and patients alike. Following the consultation, you’ll get a detailed report and actionable advice on the measures you can take to reduce VOC concentrations.

A hospital grade air purifier can help you quickly and thoroughly improve the air quality in your hospital or healthcare setting. Our Blueair HealthProtect air purifiers are fitted with advanced HEPASilent technology. This is capable of catching 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, which includes VOC gases.

Take a look at our specialist air purification systems for hospitals.