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Use of portable air cleaners to reduce aerosol transmission on a hospital coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ward

Part of: SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2021

Kristy L. Buising Open the ORCID record for Kristy L. Buising [Opens in a new window] ,
Robyn Schofield ,
Louis Irving ,
Melita Keywood ,
Ashley Stevens ,
Nick Keogh ,
Grant Skidmore ,
Imogen Wadlow ,
Kevin Kevin  and
Behzad Rismanchi
...Show all authors
Kristy L. Buising*
Affiliation:
Victorian Infectious Diseases Service Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Robyn Schofield
Affiliation:
Environmental Science Hub, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Louis Irving
Affiliation:
Respiratory Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Melita Keywood
Affiliation:
Oceans and Atmosphere, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ashley Stevens
Affiliation:
Hospital Engineering, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nick Keogh
Affiliation:
Hospital Engineering, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Grant Skidmore
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Imogen Wadlow
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Kevin Kevin
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Behzad Rismanchi
Affiliation:
Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Amanda J. Wheeler
Affiliation:
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ruhi S. Humphries
Affiliation:
Oceans and Atmosphere, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Marion Kainer
Affiliation:
Infection Prevention Western Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Jason Monty
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Forbes McGain
Affiliation:
Intensive Care, Western Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Caroline Marshall
Affiliation:
Infection Prevention and Surveillance Service, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Prof Kirsty Buising, E-mail: kirsty.buising@mh.org.au
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Abstract

Objective:

To study the airflow, transmission, and clearance of aerosols in the clinical spaces of a hospital ward that had been used to care for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to examine the impact of portable air cleaners on aerosol clearance.

Design:

Observational study.

Setting:

A single ward of a tertiary-care public hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

Intervention:

Glycerin-based aerosol was used as a surrogate for respiratory aerosols. The transmission of aerosols from a single patient room into corridors and a nurses’ station in the ward was measured. The rate of clearance of aerosols was measured over time from the patient room, nurses’ station and ward corridors with and without air cleaners [ie, portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters].

Results:

Aerosols rapidly travelled from the patient room into other parts of the ward. Air cleaners were effective in increasing the clearance of aerosols from the air in clinical spaces and reducing their spread to other areas. With 2 small domestic air cleaners in a single patient room of a hospital ward, 99% of aerosols could be cleared within 5.5 minutes.

Conclusions:

Air cleaners may be useful in clinical spaces to help reduce the risk of acquisition of respiratory viruses that are transmitted via aerosols. They are easy to deploy and are likely to be cost-effective in a variety of healthcare settings.

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 43 , Issue 8 , August 2022 , pp. 987 - 992
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

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