Respirator in Intensive Treatment

New types of respiratory equipment are launched each year, technically improving but often more and more complicated concerning hygiene and infection control. Hygienic principles described in this chapter should be followed with regard to cleaning, disinfecting and sterilization of all types of respiratory equipment used in intensive wards. Intensive care units are high-risk areas with a high number of critically ill patients, a high use of antimicrobial agents and a high environmental burden of microbes, skin cells, dust from paper, aerosols and other airborne particles. For patients on respirator, infection control is extremely important to prevent serious lower tract infections. All equipment’s inner parts, connected directly or indirectly to airways, should therefore be sterile to prevent lower respiratory tract infection. A respirator will always be an “extended lung” when connected to the patient’s airways.