Airborne and Surface Bacteria in ORs: Integration of ASHRAE-Compliant Ventilation and Active UV-C Air Treatment.
Abstract
Bacteria in ORs increase surgical site infection risk. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 170 defines OR ventilation standards, but the added benefit of in-room supplemental ultraviolet C air treatment remains uncertain. We compared bacterial counts before and after installing active ultraviolet C air treatment in an OR with Standard 170-compliant ventilation, using a similar OR as a control with Standard 170-compliant ventilation alone. After installation, the intervention OR showed 80% fewer airborne bacteria and 61% fewer settled surface bacteria. The control OR showed a 219% increase in airborne colony-forming units per cubic meter and a 24% increase in settled surface bacteria over the same period, reflecting potential confounders. Although the intervention was associated with lower bacterial levels in two assays, more evidence is needed given the limited number of ORs tested and the variation in the control OR.
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BibTeX
@article{lee2026airborne,
title = {{Airborne and Surface Bacteria in ORs: Integration of ASHRAE-Compliant Ventilation and Active UV-C Air Treatment.}},
author = {Linda D Lee and Isabelle Clark and Matthew Toldy and Conor Donnelly and Haley Hatfield and Kristen Metzger and Kellee Necaise and L Michelle Cleveland-Hall and Sarah Bomgaars and Lauren Nemeth and Jennifer McNary Smith and Russell N Olmsted},
journal = {AORN journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/aorn.70176},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949577},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Airborne and Surface Bacteria in ORs: Integration of ASHRAE-Compliant Ventilation and Active UV-C Air Treatment.
AU - Linda D Lee
AU - Isabelle Clark
AU - Matthew Toldy
AU - Conor Donnelly
AU - Haley Hatfield
AU - Kristen Metzger
AU - Kellee Necaise
AU - L Michelle Cleveland-Hall
AU - Sarah Bomgaars
AU - Lauren Nemeth
AU - Jennifer McNary Smith
AU - Russell N Olmsted
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - AORN journal
DO - 10.1002/aorn.70176
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949577
AB - Bacteria in ORs increase surgical site infection risk. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 170 defines OR ventilation standards, but the added benefit of in-room supplemental ultraviolet C air treatment remains uncertain. We compared bacterial counts before and after installing active ultraviolet C air treatment in an OR with Standard 170-compliant ventilation, using a similar OR as a control with Standard 170-compliant ventilation alone. After installation, the intervention OR showed 80% fewer airborne bacteria and 61% fewer settled surface bacteria. The control OR showed a 219% increase in airborne colony-forming units per cubic meter and a 24% increase in settled surface bacteria over the same period, reflecting potential confounders. Although the intervention was associated with lower bacterial levels in two assays, more evidence is needed given the limited number of ORs tested and the variation in the control OR.
SN - 0001-2092
SN - 1878-0369
ER -