Impact of the modification of a cleaning and disinfection method of mechanical ventilators of COVID-19 patients and ventilator-associated pneumonia: One year of experience.

BACKGROUND: Mechanical ventilators are essential biomedical devices for the respiratory support of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. These devices can be transmitters of bacterial pathogens. Therefore, it is necessary to implement effective disinfection procedures. The aim of this work was to show the impact of the modification of a cleaning and disinfection method of mechanical ventilators of patients with SARS-CoV-2 and ventilator-associated pneumonia. METHODS: A total of 338 mechanical ventilators of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and ESKAPE bacteria were divided in two groups. Group A and B were subjected to cleaning and disinfection with superoxidation solution-Cl/enzymatic detergent and isopropyl alcohol, respectively. Both groups were cultured for the detection of ESKAPE bacteria. The isolates were subjected to tests for identification, resistance, adherence, and genomic typing. RESULTS: Contamination rates of 21.6% (n = 36) were identified in group A. The inspiratory limb was the circuit involved in most cases of postdisinfection contamination. Acinetobacter baumanni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and multi-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae were the pathogens involved in the contamination cases. The pathogens were highly adherent and in the case of A. baumanni, clonal dispersion was detected in 14 ventilators. Disinfection with enzymatic detergents allows a 100% reduction in contamination rates. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of cleaning and disinfection with enzymatic detergents/isopropyl alcohol of mechanical ventilators of patients with SARS-CoV-2 and ESKAPE bacteria had a positive impact on postdisinfection microbial contamination rates.

[Ocular Trauma Score comparison with open globe receiving early or late care attention]. / Comparación del Ocular Trauma Score en traumatismo con globo abierto, atendido temprana o tardíamente.

BACKGROUND: The Ocular Trauma Score (OTS) is a scale that estimates the prognosis of injured eyes after treatment, whose results are consistent with those of longitudinal studies. The time between injury presentation and initial care has been described as a prognostic factor for visual outcome, but the OTS features of eyes receiving early or late care after trauma have not been compared. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Non-experimental, comparative, retrospective, cross sectional study. Patients from either gender, aged 5-80 years, with open globe trauma, without previous diseases that reduced visual acuity or previous intraocular surgery were included. The distribution of the OTS variables was identified. The sample was divided in two: group 1 (time between trauma occurrence and initial care ≤ 24 hours) and 2 (time > 24 hours). The frequency of OTS categories of unfavorable prognosis (1-3) was compared between groups (χ(2)). RESULTS: 138 eyes of 138 patients, mean age 28.8 years, 65.2% male. The evolution time ranged 2-480 hours (mean 39.9); 103 eyes were assigned to group 1 (74.6%), and 35 to group 2 (25.4%). The proportion of categories 1-3 in group 1 (82.5%, n = 85) did not differ from that in group 2 (80%, n = 28; p = 1.0). CONCLUSION: The proportion of OTS categories with unfavorable prognosis did not show significant differences between the eyes who received care before or after 24 hours that could contribute to a different outcome, besides the delay in starting treatment.