Dados do Trabalho

Título

Bacteriological safety in home titration with automatic continuous positive airway pressure.

Introdução

The automatic continuous positive airway pressure equipments (autoCPAP/APAP/ autoPAP) are used to perform home titration, providing more comfort to the patient. With the emergence of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, exams were suspended due to the risk of contamination.

Objetivo

To assess the level of contamination in autoCPAP equipments used in home titration.

Métodos

This is a case study, where bacteriologicals tests were performed with swab collection at the room air inlet of four autoCPAP devices. The sample was by convenience, in which four patients were randomly selected to perform CPAP titration at home, all with a diagnosis of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (AHI>15) who underwent polysomnography in the laboratory. It should be noted that the hygienic conditions of the residence (room) are unknown. The sample was divided into two moments (Time 1 (T1) = foam filter + barrier filter placed in the autoCPAP air inlet; and, Time 2 (T2) = HEPA filter adapter placed in the autoCPAP air inlet), each patient participated in both moments for a period of 7 days. The swab collection in autoCPAP was performed before and after each of the moments in the laboratory environment.

Resultados

The average time of use of devices in operation at home at night in T1 was 5h03min and T2 was 5h17min. When the foam filter and barrier filter (T11) were used, the devices showed contamination after 7 days of use in the patients' homes. When the HEPA filter adapter (T2) was used, the devices showed no contamination.

Conclusões

The use of the HEPA filter adapter in autoCPAP devices proved to be a preventive and safe procedure when used at home.

Palavras -chave

Automatic positive airway pressure; Filter; Adapter; Titration.