Determining the Concentration of Particulate Matters and Microbiological Quality of Indoor Air in Intensive Care Units of Kashan Hospital, Iran

Razieh  Vahidmoghadam; Nezam  Mirzaei; Gholamabbas  Mousavi; Ali  Nazari-Alam; Mehdi  Nazeri; Sahar  Gholipour; Rouhullah  Dehghani; Marzieh  Akbari; Mohammad Bagher  Miranzadeh

doi:10.18502/jehsd.v8i2.13045

Razieh Vahidmoghadam Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Nezam Mirzaei Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Gholamabbas Mousavi Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Ali Nazari-Alam Infection Diseases Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Mehdi Nazeri Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Sahar Gholipour Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Rouhullah Dehghani Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Marzieh Akbari Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Mohammad Bagher Miranzadeh Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jehsd.v8i2.13045

Keywords: Air Pollution, Indoor, Hospitals, Particulate Matter, Kashan City.

Abstract

Introduction: Maintaining hospital air quality is very important, especially in intensive care units (ICUs), where patients undergo invasive procedures. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between particulate matters (PMs) and bioaerosols in pediatric ICU (PICU), neonatal ICU (NICU), and ICU open heart (ICU OH) of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted for six consecutive months, i.e., autumn and winter of 2021. PM samples were taken using a Grimm Dust Monitor and microbial samples were taken using a Quick Take 30 sampler. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used for analysis and then ANOVA and LSD were used for further tests.

Results: The maximum and minimum PM₁₀concentrations in the PICU and ICU OH were 59.19 and 9.71 μg/m³, respectively; and the maximum and minimum PM_2.5concentrations were 20.23 μg/m³ in the NICU and 4.69 μg/m³ in PICU. The mean PM concentration and the number of bacterial and fungal colonies were consistent with the WHO and EPA guidelines. Gram-positive Staphylococcus were the most abundant bacteria (90.96%). The most abundant fungi were Aspergillus (54.23%), Penicillium (15.64%), and Cladosperium (12.17%) species. There was also no significant relationship between PMs and bioaerosols.

Conclusion: The mean concentrations of PMs and bioaerosols match with the guidelines, which can be attributed to more observance of health protocols and restrictions on the movement of people into ICUs due to the COVID-19 outbreak.