Impact of supplementary air filtration on aerosols and particulate matter in a UK hospital ward: a case study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Aerosol spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a major problem in hospitals, leading to an increase in supplementary high-efficiency particulate air filtration aimed at reducing nosocomial transmission. This article reports a natural experiment that occurred when an air cleaning unit (ACU) on a medicine for older people ward was switched off accidentally while being commissioned.

Aim

To assess aerosol transport within the ward and determine whether the ACU reduced airborne particulate matter (PM) levels.

Methods

An ACU was placed in a ward comprising two six-bedded bays plus three single-bed isolation rooms which had previously experienced several outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019. During commissioning, real-time measu

SUBMITTER: Butler MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9957342 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature