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The effectiveness of an airflow system in preventing entrainment of particles carrying micro-organisms from the periphery of an operating room (OR) or instrument lay-up room (ILR) is affected by many variables. It is suspected that differences in the design of the systems affect the effective protection ratio (EPR): the ratio of the size of the protected area to the surface area of the supply canopy. However, no analysis has yet been done to determine which design variables have a significant effect on this ratio.

To evaluate which design variables have a significant effect on the performance of airflow systems (EPR) in ORs and ILRs.

All general and teaching hospitals in the Netherlands (N = 77) were asked to provide data from their standardized (at-rest measurement method) compulsory systems assessment reports for ORs and ILRs. Nineteen hospitals (25%) with a total of 22 hospital sites …