Analysis of Indoor Airflow in the Respiratory Disease Ward Department of a General Hospital

Abstract

This study classified the space types of respiratory disease ward departments, in which secondary airborne infection is expected, into three and selected the ward department of M hospital with space type I as a target building. On-site visits were made to the wards, hallways, and rest areas of the ward department to measure indoor airflow, which was analyzed using the Star-ccm+ software. In the existing air-conditioning state, airflow occurred between one-person wards and the hallway, between five-person wards and the hallway, and between hallways and rest areas, indicating the possibility of secondary airborne infection in the hospital. As a measure to improve the secondary infection prevention in the hospital, [ALT-1] with zoning changes and partition door installation, [ALT-2] with ward rearrangement, and [ALT-3] with ward rearrangement and partition door installation were proposed. Among them, [ALT-3] was considered to have the low probability of air-borne infection because airflow mixing between wards did not occur.