Avalia o da qualidade microbiológica da água utilizada nos umidificadores em oxigenoterapia

Nosocomial infections are a serious public health problem due to their incidence, mortality and prolongationof the hospital stay. Respiratory infections compose a large part of the acquired infections during the course ofhospitalization. They are frequent in intensive therapy unity patients, mainly in those submitted to mechanicalventilation. With the purpose of knowing the microbiological quality of water used in invasive and non invasive oxygentherapy, samples of water from mechanical ventilator, wall humidificator, autoclaved and sterile water, from inside thehumidificator cup and from stored tracheal tubes and glutaraldehyd solutions were collected. Pseudomonas aeruginosa,E. coli and fungi were researched. Results showed growth only of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in mechanical ventilator,water, autoclaved water and tracheal tubes. One should conclude that microbiological quality of the water used foroxygen therapy is a concern in serious patients.