Journal article
Use of portable air cleaners to reduce aerosol transmission on a hospital COVID-19 ward
KL Buising, R Schofield, L Irving, M Keywood, A Stevens, N Keogh, G Skidmore, I Wadlow, K Kevin, B Rismanchi, AJ Wheeler, RS Humphries, M Kainer, F Mcgain, J Monty, C Marshall
Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology | Cambridge University Press | Published : 2021
DOI: 10.1017/ice.2021.284
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 COVID-19, and to examine the impact of portable air cleaners on aerosol clearance. Design: Observational study. Setting: A single ward of a tertiary public hospital in Melbourne Australia. Intervention: Glycerine-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 cleaner..
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