Aerosol production during autopsies

Abstract

When sawing in bone for medical or medico-legal procedures, fine, airborne dust is produced (aerosols) that can pose a health hazard when inhaled by practitioners. The goal of the current study was to find the influence of saw blade frequency and saw blade contact load, the degree of skeletonisation of the bone, the test environment with external air flows such as ventilation systems, and the type of saw blade used on the production of aerosol particles. A custom test setup was designed and manufactured to test the sawing parameters in 8 experiments, with 2 to 9 experimental conditions tested in each, where a particle counter was used to determine the production of aerosol particles while varying the 5 chosen parameters. Results showed that the number of counted particles was highest with higher saw blade frequencies, lower saw blade contact loads, in dry completely skeletonised bone compared to fresh bone, and using an electrical oscillating saw compared to hand-sawing. Under all conditions, the high amount of aerosol counted posed potential health risks. The tested external ventilation system was adequate in removing the produced number of particles, but these high-tech systems are not always available in developing countries or emergency situations. In conclusion, the production of aerosols can be reduced by optimising the sawing parameters. However, even the lowest number of aerosol particles counted during the current study was high enough to cause potential health risks to practitioners. Safety precautions should be taken, such as external ventilation, proper breathing gear, and adequate protocols, to truly minimise the risk in all bone sawing scenarios.