The complex environment of the operating theatre is shared by a group of people having highly different needs: on one side, there is a surgical team whose work may last many hours and, on the other, an anaesthetized patient often subject to liquid infusion. Up to now, little consideration has been given to the different needs of the surgical team who may be affected according to their positions with respect to the scialytic lamp and their particular task. Clothing influences the comfort of the surgical team to a considerable degree: in fact, in some surgery (orthopaedics, neurosurgery and so on), surgeons and assistants must wear paper overalls beneath non-breathable plastic overalls and protective masks and caps; then, if X-rays are needed during surgery, the second surgeon and the assistants must also wear lead overalls and lead thyroid collars and gloves while the anaesthetists and nurses will keep on wearing non-breathable paper overalls. In consequence, the thermal resistance of the clothing of the surgical staff involved in the same surgical operation could be very different.The purpose of the present work is to report investigations carried out at the SS. Annunziata Hospital in Cento (Ferrara, Italy) and present some of the data obtained. The article describes experimental and theoretical research activities, both ongoing and proposed, inherent to the thermo-hygrometric comfort problems of medical personnel. This study falls within a larger research programme, concerning the microbiological, chemical and physical pollution phenomena and the patient's hypothermia problems in an operating theatre.
The operating theatre is a very complex environment shared, for a certain period, by a group of people having highly different needs: on one side, there is the surgical team that must carry out a demanding job that in some cases can be very stressful (e.g. orthopedics surgery or those lasting more than four hours) and on the other, there is the anesthetized patient often subject to liquid infusion. Up to today little consideration has been given to the different needs of the surgical team whose members show different reactions according to their positions with respect to the scialytic lamp and above all to the task had within the team. Also the clothing influences the surgical team comfort degree: in fact, in some surgery (orthopedics, neurosurgery etc.) surgeons and assistants must wear non transpiring paper overalls beneath plasticized overalls besides protective masks and caps; then, if X-rays are needed during surgery, the second surgeon and the assistants must also wear lead overalls and lead thyroid collars and gloves while the anesthetists and nurses will keep on wearing non transpiring paper overalls; therefore the clothing thermal resistance of the surgical staff involved in the same surgical operation should be very different. The purpose of the present work is to report the first data obtained during an experimental campaign carried out at the SS. Annunziata hospital in Cento (Ferrara, Italy) and presents the developed investigation methodology.
This work reports the results of a survey carried out on a hall in a historic building in Palermo (Italy) with the aim of assessing the air quality by means of objective measurement of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration and its subjective evaluation through a questionnaire. The measured values of CO 2 concentration were compared with those evaluated using the Meckler equation under steady-state conditions, having verified necessary parameters such as the constancy of the indoor and outdoor CO 2 levels and the uniformity of the CO 2 generation rate for all the occupants. The positive correspondence between measured and calculated results allowed us to utilise, under differing circumstances, the values of the natural ventilation rates achieved in steady-state conditions. By using measured and calculated data, an experimental assessment of the relationships between the CO 2 concentration levels and the number of occupants and their level of satisfaction was performed. The indoor air quality level in the hall, evaluated by means of the experimental data, was compared with the subjective responses expressed through a specific multiple choice questionnaire handed out to the occupants. A comparison between the calculated ventilation rates and those required by the main American and European standards shows that natural ventilation in the hall is often insufficient according to these standards which have regard for the minimum requirements for air acceptability. In addition, some general observations on the thermal condition of the hall have been drawn from a comparison between microclimate parameters and the subjective opinions provided by the occupants.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.