An examination of methods for disinfecting a neonatal intensive care unit incubator.

2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24890182
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Clinical nursing
• Research Institution: Sapporo Medical University
• Principal Investigator: SASADA MAYUKA 札幌医科大学, 保健医療学部, 助教 (40635455)
• Research Collaborator: MASAOKA Keiko 札幌医科大学, 保健医療学部, 准教授 (30326615) ; ITO Kumiko 札幌医科大学, 助産学専攻科, 講師 (20292039) ; HAYASHI Yosiko 札幌医科大学, 助産学専攻科, 講師 (50455630)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-08-31 – 2014-03-31
• Keywords: 保育器 / 新生児集中治療室 / 感染予防 / 環境整備 / 常在細菌叢

Research Abstract

This study aims to characterize the bacterial species inside closed infant incubators in a high temperature, high humidity environment and to determine the effectiveness of cleaning and disinfecting such incubators. We compared the effectiveness of different cleaning methods: we cleaned one group of incubators in use with disinfectant and another group using a dry wipe without any disinfectants. We did not detect any bacteria from both incubator groups. These results suggest that a high temperature, high humidity environment alone does not increase the amount of bacteria inside an incubator without any other predisposing factors. This implies that the bacteria detected inside an incubator originates from a newborn infant who acquires a bacterial flora after birth or through increased opportunities for contamination through treatment and care.