Pollution of the medical air at a university hospital in the metropolitan Tokyo area.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the quality of medical air in a hospital in the metropolitan area.


METHODS
Prospective study.


METHODS
University hospital in the metropolitan Tokyo area.


METHODS
Medical air introduced into a bio-clean operating room was sampled.


METHODS
The concentrations of nitric monoxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), and carbon monoxide (CO) in the medical air were measured every 30 minutes for 15 days.


RESULTS
The concentrations (mean +/- SD) of NO, NO(2), SO(2), and CO were 34.4 +/- 35.0 ppb (range 0-200 ppb), 7.7 +/- 5.5 ppb (0-29 ppb), 33.8 +/- 2.9 ppb (21-46 ppb), and 1.65 +/- 0.87 ppm (0.5-7.5 ppm), respectively. The concentrations of these gases peaked at rush hours within a day.


CONCLUSIONS
In the metropolitan area, we occasionally provide our patients with medical air of poor quality.
Nakata
Yoshinori
Y
Department of Anesthesia, Teikyo University School of Medicine Ichihara Hospital, Chiba, Japan. ynakata@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp
Kawasaki
Yukari
Y
Matsukawa
Koichi
K
Goto
Takahisa
T
Niimi
Yoshinari
Y
Morita
Shigeho
S
D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D009873:Operating Rooms; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014041:Tokyo; D014691:Ventilation
D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide