Share thisAnimal holding rooms (AHR), rack systems, HVAC and other similar topics are frequently discussed during the design phase of an animal facility new construction or renovation project. However, discussion of the number and size, operation and use of procedure rooms (PR) within animal research facilities often suffers from neglect. What are the necessary and desired features of PR? Are there issues of general concern? Why not take the animals to the research lab or other “outside” destination? What procedures must be done in the animal facility (AF)? Why not use the animal holding room? What technologies are preferably sited within the AF? The answers to some of these questions will be case-specific, some overseen by the attending veterinarian in conjunction with the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Others are driven by institutional culture.We present here some considerations for design and use of PR derived from our varied perspectives.
As a basic premise, we propose that it is not practical or desirable to include fully-equipped and staffed research laboratories within the animal facility. While a case may be made to accommodate select technologies, such as those for sophisticated animal-dedicated imaging and perhaps gene-transfer procedures, we propose that PR within an AF are best seen as an extension of the research laboratory sited within the AF, distinct from animal housing/holding areas; that is, satellite laboratories used for animal-related procedures.
These are not “amenities,” but from a user’s perspective, are necessary and integral to the studies for which the lab animals will be maintained. In their facilities design documents, the NIH Policies and Guidelines for Animal Facilities state:
D.1 Ratio of Holding Rooms to Procedure Rooms:
During the programming stage the users should be consulted on whether animal holding rooms house multiple species and whether animal holding rooms and procedure rooms should be designed to be interchangeable with minimal structural modification. Flexibility in design of these critical areas provides for rapid accommodation of future programmatic changes and efficient space utilization. As a general rule of thumb, one procedure room for every three to four small animal holding rooms should be considered. Clusters of isolation cubicles should have at least one procedure room per cluster. Suites should have a minimum of one procedure room within the suite. The ratio of procedure rooms to holding rooms for large animals shall be determined by scientific requirements and the specific program requirements of the facility. Most large animal holding facilities will require an extensive surgical suite with its accompanying specialty procedure and prep rooms. Terminal procedures and necropsies on large animals are ideally conducted in separate locations from the surgical suite but can be performed in a necropsy/perfusion room or in a specially designated procedure room. Room should be arranged to provide airflow from the least contaminated area to the most contaminated area. (http://orf.od.nih.gov/PoliciesAndGuidelines/BiomedicalandAnimalResearchFacilitiesDesignPoliciesandGuidelines/DRMHTMLver/Chapter2/Section2-4AnimalResearchFacilities.htm)