Abstract
With COVID 19, more than ever before, healthcare institutions are realizing the need to develop, implement, assess, review and revise their infection control policies and guidelines of practice. In many facilities, patients who are known to be or suspected to be infectious are physically isolated from other patients and people. This is the rightful and ethical thing to do. These patients are usually identified through surveillance or using clinical and/ or microbiological criteria. Whilst practices such as personal and hand hygiene, safe infection control practices, distancing and others are useful, the use of formal isolation in hospitals represent an important step. This is also essential to reduce spread to healthcare workers. In this paper, we describe a Negative Pressure Full Isolation Tent (NPFIT) which we tried out via simulation and the conduct of a simple smoke test to understand more on the concept of negative pressure and what it entails. It is our hope that readers will get a better understanding of this concept, through our simplified demonstration and trial.
Highlights
COVID 19 posed multiple challenges in every sector, including healthcare, which is leading the operations during the pandemic
With each infectious disease outbreak, it is becoming more apparent on the need to address this, as part of the general infection control measures. [2, 5] Today, isolation facilities are equipped with negative pressure rooms and wards
Even Emergency Departments (EDs), which represent the frontline of the hospitals, are equipped with negative pressure rooms and resuscitation cubicles today
Summary
COVID 19 posed multiple challenges in every sector, including healthcare, which is leading the operations during the pandemic. A negative pressure room refers to a volumetric space whereby the internal atmospheric pressure is lower than the spaces into which it will open This negative pressure within isolation rooms will help to control the airflow so that the number of airborne infectious particles and bioaerosols are reduced to a level which ensures cross-infection of other persons within the healthcare facility is unlikely. These isolation rooms must be very well-sealed in order to prevent excess air leakages into or out of the room. It is important to consider cross border travels and transfers, as well as
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
