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Airflows Around Oxygen Masks^*

A Potential Source of Infection?

^* From the Departments of Medicine and Therapeutics (Drs. Hui and Sung), Microbiology (Drs. Ip, P.K.S. Chan, and Tang), and Anesthesia and Intensive Care (Dr. M.T.V. Chan), and the Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases (Ms. Wong), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, Peoples Republic of China; and the School of Mechanical Engineering (Dr. Hall), University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Correspondence to: Julian W. Tang, MBChB, PhD, Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, Peoples Republic of China; e-mail: julian.tang{at}cuhk.edu.hk

Abstract

Patients with respiratory infections often require the use of supplemental oxygen via oxygen masks, which, in the hospital, may become sources of aerosolized infectious pathogens. To assess this risk, a human lung model (respiration rate, 12 breaths/min) was designed to test the potential for a simple oxygen mask at a common setting (4 L/min) to disperse potentially infectious exhaled air into the surrounding area. A laser sheet was used to illuminate the exhaled air from the mask, which contained fine tracer smoke particles. An analysis of captured digital images showed that the exhaled air at the peak of simulated exhalation reached a distance of approximately 0.40 m.

Key Words: aerosol • airborne • airflow • hospital-acquired • infection • infection control • nosocomial • oxygen mask • transmission • visualization

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