title: Bacteria emitted in ambient air during bronchoscopy-a risk to health care workers?
abstract: Health care workers are at risk of occupational infections, and some procedures are known to increase this risk. The aim of this study was to qualify and quantify bioaerosol concentrations during bronchoscopy to estimate the occupational risk.
  
  
  
  Full-day sampling was conducted in 2 rooms while bronchoscopies were performed on patients. Two microbial air samplers were used, a wet wall cyclonic sampler and an impactor, on culture media. Identification of the culturable bacterial flora was performed with chromatographic analysis of cellular fatty acid of the isolated strain and additional biochemical tests if needed. Specific polymerase chain reaction analysis was completed on wet wall cyclonic samples for the detection of influenza A and B and Mycobacterium spp.
  
  
  
  A wide variety of bacteria were collected from the ambient air. All samples yielded at least 1 Staphylococcus species. Although most of the culturable bacteria identified were normal nonpathogenic flora, such as Streptococcus spp, Neisseria spp, and Corynebacterium spp, some opportunistic pathogens, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, were found. Neither Mycobacterium spp nor influenza virus was detected with the polymerase chain reaction method during this study.
  
  
  
  Culturable bacteria from oral, nasal, and pulmonary flora are aerosolized during bronchoscopy and could be inhaled by medical staff. The potential presence of pathogens in those aerosols could represent an occupational infection risk.
authors.affiliation: Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et sécurité du travail, Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: marchand.genevieve@irsst.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Geneviève
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marchand
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche de l'institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Quebec, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duchaine
authors.affiliation: Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et sécurité du travail, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche de l'institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Veillette
authors.affiliation: Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et sécurité du travail, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cloutier
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D000391:Air Microbiology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D009975:Orthomyxoviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols
keywords: Bioaerosols; Indoor air; Occupational exposure