Hospital AIr Conditioning

Medical research and hospital experience in the past ten years have indicated the value of air conditioning as an aid in certain therapeutic procedures. The experience of nearly fifty institutions using air conditioning in one or more wards has been reviewed in a recent report1of the American Hospital Association. In the present paper are outlined the objectives and special problems arising in the control of ward atmospheres, with special reference to operating rooms, postoperative wards, nurseries for premature infants, fever cabinets or rooms, allergen-free rooms and oxygen chambers, where air conditioning has proved of value. AIR CONDITIONING OPERATING AND POSTOPERATIVE ROOMS The main objectives in air conditioning operating rooms are to reduce the risk of explosion of certain anesthetic gases and to protect the patient and operating personnel against extremes of heat or cold in summer or winter. Explosion Hazard.— Ether and ethylene in themselves are not