‘The air that we breathe’: assessment of laser and electrosurgical dissection devices on operating theater air quality

Journal of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery

Mark D Gibson¹  Robert Hart³  Jonathan Trites³  James Kuchta¹  Neeraj Khanna²  Megan Borden¹  Licai Hu¹  Zhennan Sun¹  Sarah Butt¹  S Mark Taylor³  Elizabeth Stevens¹  Matthew D Brace³ 

[1] Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science, Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, Sexton Campus, 1360 Barrington Street, Halifax B3J 2X4, Nova Scotia, Canada;Faculty of Medicine ¿ Dalhousie University, 5849 University Ave, CRC Building, Halifax B3H 4R2, Nova Scotia, Canada;Department of Otolaryngology ¿ Head and Neck Surgery; 3rd Floor Dickson Building, Victoria General Site; QEII Health Sciences Centre, 5820 University Ave, Halifax B3H 2Y9, Nova Scotia, Canada

关键词: Cautery;    Laser;    PM2.5;    Ultrafine particles;    Plume;    Surgical smoke;    Air quality;   

Others  :  1143922
DOI  :  10.1186/s40463-014-0039-1

 received in 2014-06-11, accepted in 2014-09-30,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Objectives

To measure changes in air quality during surgery.

Methods

Operating room (OR) and hallway air quality was continuously monitored over a 3-month period. Rooftop monitoring was used to control for environmental changes and to account for the infiltration of outdoor air pollutants. Air quality measurements were correlated with operative times and electro-dissection equipment used.

Results

OR air is cooler and drier compared to the adjacent hallway. Volatile organic compounds and other gases are below indoor air exposure limit guidelines. Lasers create greater 2.5 ?m particulate matter (PM_2.5) mass concentration, and greater fine and coarse particle number than cautery or cold tissue dissection. Cautery produces more ultrafine particles (UFP) than other dissection techniques. OR air has lower particle counts than outdoor environmental air by virtue of air conditioning HEPA filtration.

Conclusion

Compared to the outside air, operating room air has lower particle counts. Lasers produce higher concentrations of PM_2.5 mass and, fine and coarse particle number counts. Cautery produces higher concentrations of UFP number counts than other modalities and warrants consideration of the use of masks with ultrafine particle filtration capacity. Operating room air is consistently cooler with decreased humidity, which may cause airway irritation.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Brace et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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