The Effectiveness of the Anteroom (Vestibule) Area onHospital Infection Control and Health Staff Safety: A Systematic Review

Background and Aim : The emergence of SARS-CoV۲ in ۲۰۱۹ showed again that the world’shealthcare system is not fully equipped and well-designed for preventing the transmission ofnosocomial respiratory infections. One of the great tools for preventing the spread of infectiousorganisms in hospitals is the anteroom. Several articles have investigated the role of the anteroomin disease control but the lack of a comprehensive study in this field prompted us to provide morein-depth information to fill this gap. Also, this study aimed to assess the necessity to construct ananteroom area for hospital staff members at the entrance of each ward of the hospital, and specifythe equipment and facilities which make the anteroom more efficient.Methods : Articles were identified through searches of Scopus, Web of Sciences, PubMed, andEmbase for studies published in English until May ۲۰۲۰ reporting data on the effect of theanteroom (vestibule) area in controlling hospital infections. Data from eligible articles wereextracted and presented according to PRISMA’s evidence-based data evaluation search strategy.Also, details around the review aims and methods were registered with the PROSPERO.Results : From the database, ۲۰۹ articles were identified, of which ۲۵ studies met the study criteria.Most studies demonstrated that an anteroom significantly enhances practical system efficiency.The results showed that the equipment such as ventilation system, high-efficiency particulateabsorption filter, hand dispensers, alcohol-based disinfection, sink, mirror, transparent panel, UVCdisinfection, and zone for PPE change, and parameters like temperature, door type, pressure, andsize of the anteroom are factors that are effective on the safety of the hospital environment.Conclusion : Studies demonstrated that providing an anteroom for changing clothing and storingequipment may be useful in reducing the transmission of airborne infections in hospitals. Sincethe transmission route of SARS-CoV۲ is common with other respiratory infectious agents, it canbe concluded that a well-designed anteroom could potentially decrease the risk of SARS-CoV۲transmission during hospitalization as well.

کلیدواژه ها:

anteroom ، vestibule ، airborne infection ، nosocomial infection ، SARS-CoV۲ ، hospitalization ، healthcare safety