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Excerpt
The objective of this study was to assess the environmental contamination from aerosolized tobramycin. Direct local environmental sampling of 3 rooms in the initial pilot evaluation; two rooms in which patients had previously received aerosol tobramycin and then were cleaned, and one in which no aerosols had been given. The second part of the study was to quantify the amount of local deposition of aerosol tobramycin in a room occupied by a patient receiving this therapy. In patient rooms where tobramycin aerosols had been used, even after cleaning, significant amounts of surface antibiotic remained (mean level 1.3 mcg/ml). In a control room, where no antibiotic aerosols had been used, there were no measurable levels. In the room of a patient receiving aerosolized tobramycin, there was easily measurable amounts of surface contamination on all local surfaces of the room (range 0.25 − > 400 mcg/ml). Aerosol tobramycin use can result in significant local deposition of the antibiotic. Clinicians must be made aware of the potential role of aerosol antibiotic contamination in the development of microbial resistance and interpretation of therapeutic drug monitoring results.
