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Hi all,
A strange request in the middle of winter however, I was wondering if anyone had any information, policy or procedure relating to Temperature & Humidity with the Operating Theatre environment that relates to increased risk of infection. The Australian College of Operating Room Nurses (ACORN) state in their ‘Standards for Peri-operative Nursing’ (2006, G3 page 5):
“3.6 Temperature, Humidity and Ventilation – The optimal temperature for individual operating rooms is 20 to 22 degrees Celsius and relative humidity 50-60%. Elsewhere in the peri-operative environment ranges of 18-24 degrees Celsius and 40-60% relative humidity are acceptable.”
Although they provide no evidence base for this statement, also very recent guidelines aimed at facilities undertaking minor surgical procedures produced jointly between Ireland and the United Kingdom (Humphreys et al, 2012) recommend temperature ranges of 18-22 degrees Celsius with relative humidity within the range of 20-60%, again with no evidence base appearing to be expert opinion. The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare also make the statement that the optimal ventilation rates, airflow patterns and humidity can help minimise the spread of infection (ACSQHC, 2010) yet again providing no evidence for this statement.
Therefore, I carried out a small literature review with regards to temperature and humidity within the operating room and the risk of post-operative infections but I found no evidence of note. One study conducted in Taiwan (Wan, Chung and Tang, 2011) had analysed indoor air quality of 8 operating rooms and found that a mean relative humidity range between 68.2% to 70.2% (above the levels suggested in the two guidelines presented earlier) had no correlation with bacterial concentrations analysed by air sampling.
Appreciate your views, from a cold Melbourne.
Regards,Paul Simpson, RN, MSc
Infection Control Consultant[Description: Description: Description: cid:image001.png@01CC5B6A.3AEF15F0]
The Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital, 32 Gisborne Street, East Melbourne, 3002, VIC
[Description: cid:image003.png@01CD2EAB.01304B80]
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Hi Paul,
Check the following areas as that should
provide the evidence you require that has provided the background to the
statements made in the ACORN, ACSQHC and other resources. I have included
points of reference that also provide additional references for review.http://www.ashrae.org
http://www.industrialairsolutions.com/contamination-control/hospital-air-purifiers-pdf/AIA-Guidelines-patient-care-construction.pdf
http://www.healthdesign.com.au/vic.dghdp/dghdp_content/guidelines/dghdp_part_e_complete_1_46.PDF
http://www.healthfacilityguidelines.com.au/AusHFG_Documents/Guidelines/Aushfg_D_860.pdf
Regards,
Sue
Sue Greig
Senior Project
Officer
Australian
Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
GPO Box 5480
Sydney NSW 2001 | Level 7, 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
(
direct (02) 9126 3565 | (
switchboard (02) 9126 3600 | 6
(02) 9126 3613 |
Email
sue.greig@safetyandquality.gov.au
| http://www.safetyandquality.gov.au
Paul Simpson <Paul.Simpson@EYEANDEAR.ORG.AU>
Sent by: ACIPC Infexion Connexion <AICALIST@AICALIST.ORG.AU>27/07/2012 01:10 PM
Please respond to
ACIPC Infexion Connexion <AICALIST@AICALIST.ORG.AU>ToAICALIST@AICALIST.ORG.AU ccSubjectTemperature & Humidity in Theatres
[SEC=No Protective Marking]Hi all,
A strange request in the middle of winter
however, I was wondering if anyone had any information, policy or procedure
relating to Temperature & Humidity with the Operating Theatre environment
that relates to increased risk of infection. The
Australian College of Operating Room Nurses (ACORN) state in their Standards
for Peri-operative Nursing (2006, G3 page 5):
3.6 Temperature, Humidity and Ventilation
The optimal temperature for individual operating rooms is 20 to 22 degrees
Celsius and relative humidity 50-60%. Elsewhere in the peri-operative environment
ranges of 18-24 degrees Celsius and 40-60% relative humidity are acceptable.
Although they provide no evidence base for
this statement, also very recent guidelines aimed at facilities undertaking
minor surgical procedures produced jointly between Ireland and the United
Kingdom (Humphreys et al, 2012) recommend temperature ranges of 18-22 degrees
Celsius with relative humidity within the range of 20-60%, again with no
evidence base appearing to be expert opinion. The Australian Guidelines
for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare also make the
statement that the optimal ventilation rates, airflow patterns and humidity
can help minimise the spread of infection (ACSQHC, 2010) yet again providing
no evidence for this statement.
Therefore, I carried out a small literature
review with regards to temperature and humidity within the operating room
and the risk of post-operative infections but I found no evidence of note.
One study conducted in Taiwan (Wan, Chung and Tang, 2011) had analysed
indoor air quality of 8 operating rooms and found that a mean relative
humidity range between 68.2% to 70.2% (above the levels suggested in the
two guidelines presented earlier) had no correlation with bacterial concentrations
analysed by air sampling.
Appreciate your views, from a cold Melbourne.
Regards,
Paul Simpson, RN, MSc
Infection Control Consultant
The Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital, 32 Gisborne Street, East Melbourne,
3002, VIC
Tel: +613 9929 8523 | Pager: 366 | Fax: +613 9663 7203
______________________________________________________________________
Attention:
The information in this e-mail message may be confidential, and may also
be subject to legal privilege, public interest or legal professional privilege.If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of
this e-mail is unauthorised.If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been checked for
the presence of computer viruses.The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital however does not warrant the message
is free of viruses.It is recommended as a prudent business practice the recipient perform
a virus scan of any message received.
______________________________________________________________________
Messages posted to this list are solely the opinion of
the authors, and do not represent the opinion of ACIPC.Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives
– registration and login required.Replies to this message will be directed back to the list.
To create a new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
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to aicalist-request@aicalist.org.au.
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aicalist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au
"Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you receive this transmission in error please notify the author immediately and delete all copies of this transmission."
Messages posted to this list are solely the opinion of the authors, and do not represent the opinion of ACIPC.
Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.
Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
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You can unsubscribe from this list be sending ‘signoff aicalist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au
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