Pilot study reinforces use of portable anteroom HEPA ...(e to airborne microorganisms as well as ...),Health

In contrast, deployment of the PAS-HEPA combination unit pulled the smoke downward, away from the operating room table and toward the floor and main door. The second phase of the study (which involved simulated microscopic particles) mirrored these observations; within 20 minutes, over 94% of submicron particles were cleared from the operating room.

The results of Mr. Olmsteds study reinforce the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2003 guidelines for environmental infection control as well as 2005 guidelines for preventing the transmission of M. tuberculosis in healthcare settings, said Janet E. Frain, RN, CIC, CPHQ, CPHRM, APIC 2008 President and Director, Integrated Services, Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, CA. These findings should be considered for integration into an overall infection prevention and control program to help ensure both patient and healthcare personnel safety.

Olmsted emphasized that infection prevention professionals should review both of these guidelines along with the compendium of corrections that accompanies the 2005 tuberculosis recommendations, paying particular attention to information regarding the use of portable air filtration units during surgical procedures. The guidelines can be found on the CDC and APIC websites, at www.cdc.gov and www.apic.org.

The investigators concluded that supplemental PAS-HEPA filtration appears to be an effective strategy for containing potential airborne infections. It also offers clinicians the option of deployment at any point in a daily schedule of surgeries and can be moved with the patient to a private recovery room to avoid postoperative transmission, Olmsted said. Nevertheless, he suggested that in order to validate these findings, additional data
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