Can Local Ventilation Reduce Fine Particles Dispersion Caused by a Coughing Patient in a Hospital Environment?

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the need to optimize ventilation in the hospital environment to lower the cross-infection risk of health-care workers has become evident. Local ventilation has been employed to enhance mechanical ventilation in in-patient recovery rooms. The present study applies computational fluid dynamics to analyse existing indoor air distribution of a hospital room as well as the respiratory droplets generated by a coughing patient. A local ventilation system in the form of a dental vacuum equipment was integrated and its location and design were considered. Additionally to this vacuum equipment, a push–pull system was also considered to compare performance through decrease in particle count in the breathing zone. Results show that although the alternative techniques reduce particles in the breathing zone, performance variation is greatly dependent on location. A push–pull system, which covers a wider area, is recommended.