Air sampling in hospitals.

Air sampling in hospitals is performed for the epidemiologic investigation of nosocomial infections, for the elucidation of spread and control of airborn microorganisms, for assessing biohazards associated with instruments, equipment and procedures and for controlling the performance of devices and techniques used for the reduction of airborne contaminants. Many different air-sampling devices are available but only a few have found use in hospitals. Certain samplers are used for special studies such as the Andersen stacked-sieve impactor or the liquid impingers. Lately, samplers have been developed which due to their size and weight are more useful to the hospital microbiologist and epidemiologist than the older slit samplers. the Ross Microban sieve sampler and the Biotest Reuter Centrifugal Sampler were tested in comparison with the Casella slit sampler and found to show comparable results. The hand-held, battery-operated Biotest RCS sample is the most versatile for general sampling of hospital air.