HVAC in Operation Theatres In Hospitals
No area of the hospital requires more careful control of the aseptic condition of the environment than does the surgical suite. The systems serving the operating rooms, including cystoscopic and fracture rooms, require careful design to reduce to a minimum the concentration of airborne organisms. The greatest amount of the bacteria found in the operating room comes from the surgical team and is a result of their activities during surgery. During an operation, most members of the surgical team are in the vicinity of the operating table, creating the undesirable situation of concentrating contamination in this highly sensitive area. Operating Rooms. Studies of operating-room air distribution devices and observation of installations in industrial clean rooms indicate that delivery of the air from the ceiling, with a downward movement to several exhaust inlets located on opposite walls, is probably the most effective air movement pattern for maintaining the concentration of contamination a