Inadequate ventilation for nosocomial tuberculosis prevention in public hospitals in Central Thailand
SETTING: Forty-two community and general hospitals in central Thailand.OBJECTIVE: To examine the adequacy of indoor ventilation for nosocomial tuberculosis (TB) prevention in public hospitals in central Thailand.DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 323 patient care and ancillary area...
Saved in:
Published in | The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 454 - 459 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Paris, France
IUATLD
01.04.2009
International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | SETTING: Forty-two community and general hospitals in central Thailand.OBJECTIVE: To examine the adequacy of indoor ventilation for nosocomial tuberculosis (TB) prevention in public hospitals in central Thailand.DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 323 patient
care and ancillary areas in the target hospitals. Data on indoor ventilation rate were collected by the tracer gas method and reported as air changes per hour (ACH). The adequacy of the measured ventilation rates were then determined by comparison with the international recommended standard
values.RESULTS: Indoor ventilation rates were inadequate in almost half of the studied areas (144/323, 44.6%). The inadequacy was particularly serious in the emergency rooms (ERs) and radiological areas, where 73.8% (31/42 each) of the rooms had ACH below the recommended standards. Detailed
analysis showed that most of the rooms with natural ventilation had air exchange rates that exceeded the recommended standards, while the opposite was the case for rooms with air-conditioning, particularly the window or wall-mount type.CONCLUSION: Indoor ventilation in high-risk nosocomial
TB areas in public hospitals in Thailand was inadequate due to the installation of air-conditioning systems in modern buildings. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | 1027-3719(20090401)13:4L.454;1- (R) Medicine - General ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1027-3719 1815-7920 |