Experimental study on the thermal plume from a surgeon in an operating room with mixing ventilation during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019, studies show positive results in protecting the surgical staff from patients infected by COVID-19 in operating rooms (ORs) with negative pressure. A negative pressure environment inside the operating room (OR) reduces the virus's circulation outside the OR (Chen et al., 2020). Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the surgeon's thermal plume can impact the transport of contaminants up to the breathing zone and thus cause infection in ORs with various pressure differences compared to adjacent rooms. The results show that a gap between the surgical manikin and the operating table greatly affects the development of the thermal plume from the head surgeon. A plate between the surgical manikin and the operating table may significantly influence the airflow distribution in front of the head surgeon more than the pressure difference inside the operating room.