Near-Patient Sampling to Assist Infection Control—A Case Report and Discussion

Julian W. Tang, Elizabeth Hoyle, Sammy Moran and Manish Pareek
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Julian W. Tang: Clinical Microbiology, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK
Elizabeth Hoyle: Infection Prevention and Control, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK
Sammy Moran: Leicester Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK
Manish Pareek: Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-9

Abstract: Air sampling as an aid to infection control is still in an experimental stage, as there is no consensus about which air samplers and pathogen detection methods should be used, and what thresholds of specific pathogens in specific exposed populations (staff, patients, or visitors) constitutes a true clinical risk. This case report used a button sampler, worn or held by staff or left free-standing in a fixed location, for environmental sampling around a child who was chronically infected by a respiratory adenovirus, to determine whether there was any risk of secondary adenovirus infection to the staff managing the patient. Despite multiple air samples taken on difference days, coinciding with high levels of adenovirus detectable in the child’s nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs), none of the air samples contained any detectable adenovirus DNA using a clinically validated diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Although highly sensitive, in-house PCR assays have been developed to detect airborne pathogen RNA/DNA, it is still unclear what level of specific pathogen RNA/DNA constitutes a true clinical risk. In this case, the absence of detectable airborne adenovirus DNA using a conventional diagnostic assay removed the requirement for staff to wear surgical masks and face visors when they entered the child’s room. No subsequent staff infections or outbreaks of adenovirus have so far been identified.

Keywords: airborne; transmission; air sampling; respiratory; adenovirus; infection control; limit of detection; sensitivity; face masks; personal protective equipment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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