Negative pressure rooms are used for which purpose in hospital isolation protocols?

• A. Protective isolation
• B. Infectious isolation
• C. Administrative segregation
• D. Air quality control measures

Answer: (B)

Negative pressure rooms are designed to keep airborne contaminants from spreading to other areas. They maintain a lower pressure inside the room than in adjacent spaces, so air flows into the room rather than out, and the exhaust air is typically filtered or safely vented outside. This containment is specifically for infectious aerosols, making it a tool for infectious isolation to protect other patients and staff from airborne pathogens. By contrast, protective (reverse) isolation uses positive pressure to guard a vulnerable patient from outside microbes, so negative pressure wouldn’t fit that purpose.