In Korea, there are not detailed analysis data on soil contamination in nuclear power plant(NPP) and suitable treatment criteria of contaminated soils. When the soils of NPP were contaminated, they have been simply collected and kept in radioactive waste building. But contamination of soils in NPP is inevitable and enormous amounts of contaminated soils can be produced during decommissioning. T...

BACKGROUND Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a common cause of morbidity in critically ill patients. Interventions beneficial to the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia would therefore have a significant impact on the care of these patients. PURPOSE To perform a literature review and synthesis of methods for prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE (196...

Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) using combinations of oral non-absorbable antibiotics has been proposed as a means of preventing multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of rifaximin (RIFAX) were determined against 262 Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial isolates by broth microtitre assay. Rifampicin (RIF) was used as a comp...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Prevention of surgical site infections is a key issue to patient safety and the success of surgical interventions. Systemic antimicrobial prophylaxis is one important component of a perioperative infection prevention bundle. This review focuses on selected recent developments and important concepts in the field. RECENT FINDINGS Joint guidelines (American Society of Health-Sy...

INTRODUCTION During hygienic-microbiological monitoring of the water quality in dental units, the total bacterial colony count was found to exceed the limits for drinking water quality; in addition, mold contamination was detected. The presumed cause was irregular decontamination of the units through purging and intensive decontamination. METHODS To decontaminate the units, the manufacturer's...

This study addresses the individual decontamination of chemical warfare agents (CWA) and other hazardous substances. The individual decontamination applies to contaminated body surfaces, protective clothing and objects immediately after contamination, performed individually or by mutual assistance using prescribed or improvised devices. The article evaluates the importance of individual deconta...

Filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) are recommended for use as precautions against airborne pathogenic microorganisms; however, during pandemics demand for FFRs may far exceed availability. Reuse of FFRs following decontamination has been proposed but few reported studies have addressed the feasibility. Concerns regarding biocidal efficacy, respirator performance post decontamination, decont...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of multiple decontamination procedures for salivary contamination after curing of a universal adhesive on dentin bond strength according to its etch modes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-two extracted bovine incisors were trimmed by exposing the labial dentin surfaces and embedded in cylindrical molds. A universal adhesive...

BACKGROUND The soil contaminated by depleted uranium (238U) ammunition during the NATO bombing of Serbia and Montenegro was cleaned-up for four months in 2002. A team of 11 clean-up workers (expert members) were medically examined three times: before decontamination as a preliminary medical check-up, immediately after decontamination, and four years after cleaning up contaminated ground. OBJE...

Highly toxic organophosphorus compounds (OPs) were originally developed for warfare or as agricultural pesticides. Today, OPs represent a serious threat to military personnel and civilians. This study investigates the in vivo decontamination of male Wistar rats percutaneously exposed to paraoxon and two potent nerve agents--soman (GD) and VX. Four commercial detergents were tested as decontamin...