Characterization of Aerosols Produced during Surgical Procedures in Hospitals

In orthopedic surgical procedures, surgical power tools, such as electrocautery, bone saws, reamers, and drills, are commonly used. In laboratory experiments using these tools, it has been demonstrated that inhalable aerosols can be produced. In order to assess the potential exposure of health care workers to these aerosols during orthopedic surgery, it is necessary to characterize the aerosols. In this study, Marple personal cascade impactors (MPCI) and a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) were used to measure the size distribution of the aerosols, and filter samples were collected to estimate the aerosol mass concentration. A Chemstrip 9 analysis to measure hemoglobin was applied to samples collected at each stage of the MPCIs as well as QCM and filter samples. During ten surgical procedures, including total hip replacements, total knee replacements, a back vertebral fusion, and a hip reconstruction, aerosols were sampled. Aerosol mass concentrations and size distributions varied widely from procedure to...

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