In a surgical suite operated under positive pressure, what is the direction of airflow when a door is opened?

• A. Air flows from adjacent areas into the operating room
• B. Air tends to flow from the operating room to adjacent areas
• C. Air is stagnant
• D. Air flows randomly with no pattern

Answer: (B)

In a surgical suite that uses positive pressure, the operating room is kept at a higher pressure than the surrounding spaces. When a door is opened, the pressure difference drives air from the higher-pressure space to the lower-pressure space. Therefore, air tends to flow from the operating room to adjacent areas. This outward flow helps protect the sterile environment by pushing air out rather than allowing potentially contaminated air from the outside to enter.

Air flowing from adjacent areas into the operating room would only occur if the OR were at lower pressure (negative pressure), which is not the case here. Stagnant or randomly moving air doesn’t reflect the pressure-driven airflow that occurs when doors are opened in a positive-pressure setup.