A pilot study of minimum operational flow for loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators used in healthcare cleaning services

• Published in: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene Vol. 16; no. 7; pp. 440 - 445
• Main Authors: Zhu, Jintuo, He, Xinjian, Bergman, Michael S., Guffey, Steven, Nimbarte, Ashish D., Zhuang, Ziqing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa UK Limited 03.07.2019; Taylor & Francis LLC; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adult; Air flow; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Cleaning; Disinfection; Empirical analysis; Female; Health care; Health Personnel; Humans; Inhalation; Inhalation Exposure; Inhalation Exposure - prevention & control; Male; Medical innovations; Medical personnel; Middle Aged; Occupational Exposure; Occupational Exposure - prevention & control; Patients' Rooms; Pilot Projects; Protective equipment; Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; Pulmonary Ventilation; Recording; Respiration; Respirators; Respiratory Protective Devices; Respiratory Protective Devices - standards; West Virginia; Workers; West Virginia; peak inhalation flow; minute volume; Healthcare workers; powered air-purifying respirators; minimum operational flow; respiratory flow
• ISSN: 1545-9624; 1545-9632; 1545-9632
• DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2019.1605241

The objective of this pilot study was to determine the minimum operational flow for loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR) used in healthcare cleaning services. An innovative respiratory flow recording device was worn by nine healthcare workers to obtain the minute volume (MV, L/min), mean inhalation flow (MIF, L/min), and peak inhalation flow (PIF, L/min) while performing "isolation unit work" (cleaning and disinfecting) of a patient room within 30 min. The MV and PIF were compared with the theoretical values obtained from an empirical formula. The correlations of MV, MIF, and PIF with subjects' age, weight, height, body surface area (A ), and body mass index (BMI) were analyzed. The average MV, MIF, and PIF were 33, 74, and 107 L/min, with maximal airflow rates of 41, 97, and 145 L/min, respectively, which are all below the current 170 L/min minimum operational flow for NIOSH certified loose-fitting PAPRs.