Share thisDear Editor: I found the article, Get a Whiff, in the May/June 2010 ALN Magazine to be very useful in determining both risks of exposure and the methods to prevent exposure from volatile anesthesia agents. I agree with Mr. McLeod when he states that ventilation is the best defense against exposures in the surgery area. He states that the recommended amount of ventilation for operating rooms is 15 air changes per hour, with a minimum of three air changes per hour of fresh air, and that “anesthesia areas are slightly negative, in terms of air pressure, to surrounding areas” in order to prevent contaminants from flowing or mixing into other nearby areas.
Animal facility engineers and managers should be aware that making surgery suites (anesthesia areas) slightly negative to surrounding areas is in conflict with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals1 which states, “Ventilation systems supplying filtered air at positive pressure can reduce the risk of post-operative infection.” In order to comply with the Guide and with regulatory and accreditation organizations, air flow to surgery areas should be positive to surrounding areas.
Richard B. Huneke, DVM, MPH
Executive Director, ULAR
Drexel University College of Medicine
- Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, ILAR, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1996.