Hospital airborne infection isolation rooms are designed with negative air pressure relative to adjoining corridors, ensuring that air flows inward rather than outward when doors open. Exhaust air from these rooms is drawn through high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters before being discharged directly outdoors. If the dedicated exhaust fan suffers a mechanical drop in ventilation capacity while the central supply air continues to operate at normal output, the pressure differential reverses. Under such conditions, airborne pathogens are forced into public hospital hallways.
Based on the passage, which of the following can be logically concluded about airborne infection isolation rooms?
- AHospital corridors must operate secondary sterilization systems to counteract routine airflow reversals between adjacent rooms.
- BAirborne pathogens escaping into public hallways cause the dedicated exhaust fan to suffer a drop in ventilation capacity.
- Effective containment requires the exhaust system to extract air at a rate greater than the supply system introduces it.Answer
- DDischarging exhaust air through high-efficiency particulate air filters prevents pressure reversals during mechanical fan failures.
Answer
Effective containment requires the exhaust system to extract air at a rate greater than the supply system introduces it.
The passage establishes that when exhaust capacity drops while supply air remains constant, the pressure differential reverses and pushes room air into hallways. This directly implies that maintaining inward air pressure depends on the exhaust system extracting more air than the supply system introduces.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Deducing necessary operational constraints from described mechanical relationships and failure states.
Estimated Time:1m 0s