Abstract
M.Cur
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s(CDC)
National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System of 1996, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa(P. aeruginosa) can be rated as the number two cause of nosocomial
pneumonia(Chen & Rudoy,2006). Nosocomial pneumonia increases hospital cost and
morbidity and mortality in patients. Most of the patients in the critical care unit are
immune compromised because of underlying illnesses. Antibiotics eliminates the
patient’s normal flora which causes opportunity for pathogens to colonise.
Indwelling procedures like endotracheal intubation cause a point of entrance for
pathogens like P.aeruginosa. The endotracheal tube bypasses the normal physiological
processes and inhibits the cough reflex. It is the nurse’s responsibility to remove
secretion through endotracheal suctioning. During the past ten years the closed suction
method was increasingly implemented to remove secretions because studies showed
closed suction caused less infection than open suction. In a spesific critical care unit
in a private hospital in Pretoria the nurses are of the opinion that closed suctioning
does not effectively remove secretion. Patients are therefore suctioned open
which can cause air contamination because the colonised ventilator circuit is opened.
The following question can be asked in view of the above arguments and problem
statement: Is there a difference in aircontamintion between open and closed
suctioning?
The aim of the study is to determine whether any difference in air contamination exists
between open and closed suctioning in a spesific critical care unit in Pretoria.
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A comparitive contextual design with crossover methods was used. Patients are
allocated to group 1 or group 2 through random sampling. An air exstractor is used to
take airsamples before, during and after suctioning.
There was no significant difference in terms of air contamination for open and closed
suction. This is probably because of too small a sample. The null hypothesis is
accepted and that is there is no significant difference in air contamination between
open and closed suction.