Summary
In four-bed hospital rooms, HOCl mist (about 0.03 ppm available chlorine) or tap-water mist ran 12 hours a day for 30 days around 40 patients. No prespecified symptoms were reported or seen, but the authors say the small sample and absence of objective lung or toxicology tests rule out conclusions about safety.
Key points
- No prespecified symptoms were reported by patients or seen by nurses in either group over 30 days.
- Airborne available chlorine measured 0.02 to 0.04 ppm, about 0.03 ppm on average.
- One patient in each group died; the investigator judged both deaths unrelated to the misting.
- The authors say the small sample and lack of objective lung, body or toxicology tests rule out conclusions about safety, and the study did not measure airborne virus or infections.
- Design: single-center pilot in occupied four-bed rooms assigned non-randomly to HOCl mist (24 patients) or tap-water mist (16 patients), 12 hours a day; patients and assessing nurses were blinded.