Decontamination of filtering facepiece respirators using a low-temperature-steam–2%-formaldehyde sterilization process during a pandemic: a safe alternative for re-use

Autor: Jesús María Aranaz Andrés, José Valencia Martín, CORNELIA BISCHOFBERGER, Amaranta McGee Laso, Gerardo Gomez Montero, Martin Fabregate, Cristina Díaz-Agero Pérez, Marta González-Touya, Jorge Vicente-Guijarro
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Male
Sterilisation
business.product_category
Sodium Chloride
030501 epidemiology
Residual
law.invention
chemistry.chemical_compound
law
Medicine
Respiratory Protective Devices
Respirator
Decontamination
CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
0303 health sciences
FFP (filtering facepiece) mask
Waste management
Masks
NIOSH
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
LTSF
low-temperature-steam-2%-formaldehyde
General Medicine
Human decontamination
Infectious Diseases
0305 other medical science
Adult
Microbiology (medical)
Occupational Safety
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Formaldehyde
COVID-19 pandemic
WHO
The World Health Organization
Article
03 medical and health sciences
Equipment Reuse
Humans
FF
fit factor
Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment
FFP
Filtering Facepiece
Filtration
INSST
Instituto Nacional de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo (Spanish National Institute of Safety and Health at Work)
Aerosols
Ventilators
Mechanical
SARS-CoV-2
030306 microbiology
business.industry
COVID-19
Sterilization
Sterilization (microbiology)
Steam
chemistry
business
Zdroj: Journal of Hospital Infection
The Journal of Hospital Infection
ISSN: 0195-6701
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.10.024
Popis: Summary Background The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has caused problems with respirator supplies. Re-use may minimize the impact of the shortage, but requires the availability of an efficient and safe decontamination method. Aim To determine whether low-temperature-steam–2%-formaldehyde (LTSF) sterilization is effective, preserves the properties of filtering facepiece (FFP) respirators and allows safe re-use. Methods Fourteen unused FFP2, FFP3 and N95 respirator models were subjected to two cycles of decontamination cycles. After the second cycle, each model was inspected visually and accumulated residual formaldehyde levels were analysed according to EN 14180. After one and two decontamination cycles, the fit factor (FF) of each model was tested, and penetration tests with sodium chloride aerosols were performed on five models. Findings Decontamination physically altered three of the 14 models. All of the residual formaldehyde values were below the permissible threshold. Irregular decreases and increases in FF were observed after each decontamination cycle. In the sodium chloride aerosol penetration test, three models obtained equivalent or superior results to those of the FFP classification with which they were marketed, both at baseline and after one and two cycles of decontamination, and two models had lower filtering capacity. Conclusion One and two decontamination cycles using LTSF did not alter the structure of most (11/14) respirators tested, and did not degrade the fit or filtration capacity of any of the analysed respirators. The residual formaldehyde levels complied with EN 14180. This reprocessing method could be used in times of shortage of personal protective equipment.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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