Validation of an in-office dental unit water monitoring technique.
The authors conducted a study to determine the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of HPC Samplers (Millipore Corp.) as compared with that of R2A agar and HPC agar when used to monitor dental unit water, or DUW, quality. Results were either a pass (200 colony-forming units per milliliter, or CFU/mL, or less) or a fail (greater than 200 CFU/mL). Of the 408 tests conducted, the results of the HPC Sampler agreed with R2A agar 377 times, for an accuracy rate of 92.6 percent. The authors recommend that clinicians consider using HPC Samplers, as they are a user-friendly, economical means of monitoring compliance of DUW quality.
Karpay
R I
RI
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA.
Plamondon
T J
TJ
Mills
S E
SE
Dove
S B
SB
D000362:Agar; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003748:Dental Equipment; D003770:Dental Offices; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D008283:Maintenance; D008851:Micropore Filters / Q000191:economics / Q000382:microbiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply
D004202:Disinfectants; D000362:Agar; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite