THE USE OF THE REUTER CENTRIFUGAL AIR SAMPLER FOR THE ESTIMATION OF BACTERIAL AIR COUNTS IN DIFFERENT HOSPITAL LOCATIONS

The convenience and portability of the Reuter centrifugal air sampler (RCS) encouraged us to determine a range of ''expected values'' for bacterial air counts in nine hospitals at 13 defined locations. Results were recorded as the number of cfu per strip per 4 min. Bacterial air counts were comparable from hospital to hospital; in operating theatres the overall median RCS counts for air-inlets and in empty operating rooms were 13 and 9.8 cfu per strip per 4 min respectively. For surgical wards the median value was 141 and 180 cfu per strip per 4 min with, and without, air conditioning. Increased counts were readily demonstrated during surgical operations, and during bedmaking in wards. Conversion of RCS counts of cfu m-3 of air usually yielded values higher than those established by other methods. Our findings, however, demonstrate that this instrument may replace some of the applications of the slit sampler and facilitate examination of epidemiological problems.