Bacteria in the air of the operating theatres: Part I a comparison of four operating sites in Alexandria

ABSTRACT

The level of contamination in the air of the operating theatres of the main big hospitals in Alexandria was studied. These hospitals were chosen because most major orthopaedic operations are performed there. Nutrient agar plates were used to measure the rate of settling of organisms from the air. The plates were placed in different sites before and after the daily work. It was found that the rate of settling of organisms [viable count] was higher than the safe standard defined by Smith in 1975. A wide variety of organisms was detected from all the theatres, however, staphylococci were the most common. The air of the theatre of Almousat Hospital was the least contaminated