In surgical environments thermal comfort conditions need to be the best possible to allow surgeons and the medical team to work in favourable conditions for the success of procedures. In this study, thermal comfort conditions in surgery rooms were analyzed using Fanger's method and equivalent temperatures. Measurements of environmental variables and subjective evaluations based on questionnaires were undertaken. The application of Fanger's method was proven to be appropriate for the evaluation of thermal comfort conditions in surgical rooms, although special care is necessary on its use and in the analysis of the results. Moreover, results of a comparative study with other authors' works showed practically the same values of thermal comfort equivalent temperatures, which were around 22 oC for all members of the surgical team. That result is particularly useful to evaluate different environmental and personal conditions in order to provide suitable thermal comfort conditions for different members of the surgical team.
Thermal comfort; Fanger's method; Equivalent temperatures; Surgical environments
