Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals—a reviewResearch in context
Summary: Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for improved infectious aerosol concentrations through interventions that reduce the transmission of airborne infections. The aims of this review were to map the existing literature on interventions used to improve infectious aerosol c...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | EClinicalMedicine |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589537024005698 |
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| author | Gráinne Brady Fiona Bennin Rosaline De Koning Cecilia Vindrola-Padros Sigrún Eyrúnardóttir Clark Manish K. Tiwari Simon Watt Andrea Ducci Ryo Torii Danielle Morris Elizabeth Lloyd-Dehler Jerry Slann Fiona Stevenson Zarnie Khadjesari Hakim-Moulay Dehbi Lena Ciric Ruth Epstein John Rubin Catherine F. Houlihan Rachael Hunter Laurence B. Lovat |
| author_facet | Gráinne Brady Fiona Bennin Rosaline De Koning Cecilia Vindrola-Padros Sigrún Eyrúnardóttir Clark Manish K. Tiwari Simon Watt Andrea Ducci Ryo Torii Danielle Morris Elizabeth Lloyd-Dehler Jerry Slann Fiona Stevenson Zarnie Khadjesari Hakim-Moulay Dehbi Lena Ciric Ruth Epstein John Rubin Catherine F. Houlihan Rachael Hunter Laurence B. Lovat |
| author_sort | Gráinne Brady |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for improved infectious aerosol concentrations through interventions that reduce the transmission of airborne infections. The aims of this review were to map the existing literature on interventions used to improve infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals and understand challenges in their implementation. Methods: We reviewed peer-reviewed articles identified on three databases, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from inception to July 2024. 6417 articles were identified, 160 were reviewed and 18 were included. Findings: Results on aerosol concentration were discussed in terms of three categories: (1) filtration and inactivation of aerosol particles; (2) effect of airflow and ventilation on aerosol concentrations; and (3) improvements or reduction in health conditions. The most common device or method that was outlined by researchers was high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters which were able to reduce aerosol concentrations under investigation across the included literature. Some articles were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of interventions in terms of improving health outcomes for patients. Interpretation: The key finding is that infectious aerosol concentration improvement measures based on filtration, inactivation, improved air flow dynamics, and ventilation reduce the likelihood of nosocomial infections. However limitations of such approaches must be considered such as noise pollution and effects on ambient humidity. Whilst these efforts can contribute to improved air quality in hospitals, they should be considered with the other interacting factors such as microclimates, room dimensions and use of chemical products that effect air quality. Funding: This study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) (NIHR205439). |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4b593bb3634a4d33a1d8e46c6d9d4ef4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2589-5370 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | EClinicalMedicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-4b593bb3634a4d33a1d8e46c6d9d4ef42025-01-22T05:43:23ZengElsevierEClinicalMedicine2589-53702025-01-0179102990Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals—a reviewResearch in contextGráinne Brady0Fiona Bennin1Rosaline De Koning2Cecilia Vindrola-Padros3Sigrún Eyrúnardóttir Clark4Manish K. Tiwari5Simon Watt6Andrea Ducci7Ryo Torii8Danielle Morris9Elizabeth Lloyd-Dehler10Jerry Slann11Fiona Stevenson12Zarnie Khadjesari13Hakim-Moulay Dehbi14Lena Ciric15Ruth Epstein16John Rubin17Catherine F. Houlihan18Rachael Hunter19Laurence B. Lovat20Department of Targeted Intervention, Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL), University College London, UKDepartment of Targeted Intervention, Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL), University College London, UKDepartment of Targeted Intervention, Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL), University College London, UKDepartment of Targeted Intervention, Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL), University College London, UK; Corresponding author. Department of Targeted Intervention, Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL), University College London (UCL), Charles Bell House, 43-45 Foley Street, W1W 7TY, UK.Department of Targeted Intervention, Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL), University College London, UKDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, UK; WEISS Centre, University College London, UKDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, UK; WEISS Centre, University College London, UKDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, UKDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, UKEast and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, UKLay Member, UKInstitute of Occupational Medicine, UKInstitute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, UKSchool of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, UKComprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, University College London, UKDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Healthy Infrastructure Research Group, University College London, UKRoyal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UKRoyal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UKDepartment of Virology, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, UKInstitute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, UKWEISS Centre, University College London, UK; Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, UKSummary: Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for improved infectious aerosol concentrations through interventions that reduce the transmission of airborne infections. The aims of this review were to map the existing literature on interventions used to improve infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals and understand challenges in their implementation. Methods: We reviewed peer-reviewed articles identified on three databases, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from inception to July 2024. 6417 articles were identified, 160 were reviewed and 18 were included. Findings: Results on aerosol concentration were discussed in terms of three categories: (1) filtration and inactivation of aerosol particles; (2) effect of airflow and ventilation on aerosol concentrations; and (3) improvements or reduction in health conditions. The most common device or method that was outlined by researchers was high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters which were able to reduce aerosol concentrations under investigation across the included literature. Some articles were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of interventions in terms of improving health outcomes for patients. Interpretation: The key finding is that infectious aerosol concentration improvement measures based on filtration, inactivation, improved air flow dynamics, and ventilation reduce the likelihood of nosocomial infections. However limitations of such approaches must be considered such as noise pollution and effects on ambient humidity. Whilst these efforts can contribute to improved air quality in hospitals, they should be considered with the other interacting factors such as microclimates, room dimensions and use of chemical products that effect air quality. Funding: This study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) (NIHR205439).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589537024005698Infectious respiratory particlesHospitalFiltration deviceVentilation deviceVentilationAir safety |
| spellingShingle | Gráinne Brady Fiona Bennin Rosaline De Koning Cecilia Vindrola-Padros Sigrún Eyrúnardóttir Clark Manish K. Tiwari Simon Watt Andrea Ducci Ryo Torii Danielle Morris Elizabeth Lloyd-Dehler Jerry Slann Fiona Stevenson Zarnie Khadjesari Hakim-Moulay Dehbi Lena Ciric Ruth Epstein John Rubin Catherine F. Houlihan Rachael Hunter Laurence B. Lovat Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals—a reviewResearch in context EClinicalMedicine Infectious respiratory particles Hospital Filtration device Ventilation device Ventilation Air safety |
| title | Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals—a reviewResearch in context |
| title_full | Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals—a reviewResearch in context |
| title_fullStr | Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals—a reviewResearch in context |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals—a reviewResearch in context |
| title_short | Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals—a reviewResearch in context |
| title_sort | interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals a reviewresearch in context |
| topic | Infectious respiratory particles Hospital Filtration device Ventilation device Ventilation Air safety |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589537024005698 |
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