Ventilation Performance Evaluation of a Negative-Pressurized Isolation Room for Emergency Departments

Due to the emergence of COVID-19 becoming a significant pandemic worldwide, hospitals are expected to be capable and flexible in responding to the pandemic situation. Moreover, as frontline healthcare staff, emergency department (ED) staff have a high possibility of exposure risk to infectious airborne. The ED isolation room will possibly and effectively isolate the infected patient, therefore safekeeping frontline healthcare staff and controlling the outbreak. However, there is still limited knowledge available regarding isolation room facilities specifically for the emergency department. In this study, field measurement is conducted in an ED isolation room located in Taiwan. CFD simulation is employed to simulate and investigate the airflow and airborne contaminant distribution. Instead of high air-change rates (ACH) that purposes for dilution, this study proposes the arrangement of exhaust air grilles to improve the contaminant removal. The results reveal that the exhaust air grille placed behind the patient's head is optimized to dilute airborne contaminants.

Automated summary

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals need to be prepared and flexible in responding to the situation. Emergency department staff, as frontline healthcare workers, are at high risk of exposure to airborne infectious agents. Isolating infected patients in the emergency department can protect healthcare workers and control the outbreak. However, there is limited knowledge about the specific facilities required for isolation rooms in the emergency department. This study conducted field measurements and used CFD simulation to investigate airflow and airborne contaminant distribution in an ED isolation room in Taiwan. The study proposed using exhaust air grilles to improve contaminant removal rather than relying solely on high air-change rates for dilution. The results showed that placing the exhaust air grille behind the patient's head optimized the dilution of airborne contaminants.