Medical
Air Solutions, LLC
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Ventilation Mechanics Ventilation can reduce the overall risk of infection in a room in two ways: 1. dilution 2. removal .When clean air is supplied to a room, it dilutes the concentration of airborne contaminants in the room. This is usually achieved by the HVAC air handling equipment provided there is enough capacity to provide additional air volume into the room area. Dilution reduces the likelihood that a person in the room will breathe air that may contain contaminants. In the case of M.Tb, this effect means that a person will be less likely to inhale one or more droplet nuclei. An interesting point! It takes only one (1) to ten (10) organisms to infect a person so they will test positive for TB. The removal effect occurs when air from a room is either:
The preferred removal incorporates discharging the room’s ambient air through a HEPA filter either directly to the outdoors, or into the HVAC return system. A "one pass and out" method (The air passes over the patient once then is exhausted) ensures that healthcare worker’s (HCW) exposure to an airborne pathogen is kept at a strict minimum. At the same time the air dynamics immediately around the patient’s head and bed should be closely checked during the annual certification of that room. This is an additional precautionary to safeguard the HCW. Because TB droplet nuclei can remain active for up to two (2) hours or more in surrounding air, the ideal way of eradicating the pathogen is to capture it with the HEPA filter then, at the same time, bathing the HEPA filter with Ultraviolet C, (253.7 nm frequency) which attacks the pathogen at its nucleus and disrupts the DNA chain. This is termed "Capture and Kill". If the air is untreated and is exhausted directly outdoors, care must be given to what is known as the "25 foot rule". The air can not be exhausted within 25 feet of any window, door or orifice where air can get back into the building. This includes walkways or pedestrian paths where the infected air could contaminate someone. The 25 foot rule is an OSHA directive found in CPL 2.106 established in 1994. The AIA and JCAHO have also adopted this rule. ã 2003, Medical Air Solutions, LLC., All Rights Reserved
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