ABSTRACT
Since the start of the 2019 pandemic, medical staff and non-medical staff are fighting on the front line in all hospitals worldwide. However, the possibility of healthcare workers' scarcity due to the increasing medical infection rate is ignored in many recent studies. To prevent such things to happen, the installation of a negative air pressure isolation room is proposed to Norzagaray Municipal Hospital (NMH). Primary parameters such as filtration, pressure management, and dilution ventilation were investigated in SOLIDWORKS simulation software by removing one parameter per simulation. Two existing schemes were simulated, and the primary parameters present were evaluated. Three ventilation design set-ups were designed and the effects of the varying placements of the primary parameters to the airflow pattern in a negative air pressure isolation room were determined. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) was conducted to determine if the cost of installing the negative air pressure room outweighs its benefit. The set-up where the High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) machine is inside the room is proposed to NMH as this abides by the Department of Health (DOH) memorandum and standards on Airborne Infection Isolation Rooms (AIIRs) and is the most effective of the three set-ups. Results show that filtration filters the infectious particles, pressure management manages the proper airflow direction, and dilution ventilation makes sure there are enough air changes per hour to filter a percentage of infectious particles. In the existing schemes, all the primary parameters were used to contain the infectious particles in the room, however, the effectivity of the filtration also depends on the location of the patient, supply, and exhaust. The most significant effect of the varying placements of the primary parameters can be seen in filtration as only the set-up where the HEPA machine is inside the room was able to filter 100% of the infectious particles. It is also the most profitable ventilation design set-up with a 2.08 CBA ratio and has the least payback period of 5.8 months. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of occupational exposure to the new pandemic human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and are a source of nosocomial transmission in airborne infectious isolation rooms (AIIRs). Here, we performed comprehensive environmental contamination surveillance to evaluate the risk of viral transmission in AIIRs with 115 rooms in three buildings at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai, during the treatment of 334 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. The results showed that the risk of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in AIIRs was low (1.62%, 25/1544) due to the directional airflow and strong environmental hygiene procedures. However, we detected viral RNA on the surface of foot-operated openers and bathroom sinks in AIIRs (viral load: 55.00-3154.50 copies/mL). This might be a source of contamination to connecting corridors and object surfaces through the footwear and gloves used by HCWs. The risk of infection was eliminated by the use of disposable footwear covers and the application of more effective environmental and personal hygiene measures. With the help of effective infection control procedures, none of 290 HCWs was infected when working in the AIIRs at this hospital. This study has provided information pertinent for infection control in AIIRs during the treatment of COVID-19 patients.