Authors: Jiamjarasrangsi, W.¹; Bualert, S.²; Chongthaleong, A.³; Chaindamporn, A.³; Udomsantisuk, N.³; Euasamarnjit, W.⁴

Source: The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Volume 13, Number 4, April 2009 , pp. 454-459(6)

Publisher: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

Abstract:

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.

Keywords: nosocomial tuberculosis; indoor ventilation; public hospital

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand 2: Department of General Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand 3: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand 4: Disease Prevention and Control Office Region 1 Bangkok, Thailand Ministry of Public Health, Bangkok, Thailand

Publication date: 2009-04-01

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• The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease publishes articles on all aspects of lung health, including public health-related issues such as training programmes, cost-benefit analysis, legislation, epidemiology, intervention studies and health systems research. The IJTLD is dedicated to the continuing education of physicians and health personnel and the dissemination of information on tuberculosis and lung health world-wide.

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