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Dawson JN, Guha S, Schwerin M, Lucas A. Evaluation of Glove Performance after Decontamination. Biomed Instrum Technol 2023; 57:31-39. [PMID: 37099598 PMCID: PMC10512997 DOI: 10.2345/0899-8205-57.1.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
Studies of healthcare providers doffing personal protective equipment, especially gloves, indicate that self-contamination does occur. Although generally this is not hazardous, working with particularly pathogenic organisms, such as Ebola virus and Clostridium difficile, can present a serious health risk. Decontaminating medical gloves before removal can reduce self-contamination and mitigate the spread of these types of pathogens. Also, in cases of extreme shortage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has specific recommendations for decontaminating gloves for extended use. Reuse of medical gloves is strongly discouraged by both the CDC and Food and Drug Administration. This work seeks to lay a foundation of testing to evaluate whether a decontamination method is compatible for a given glove type and material. Four potential methods of decontamination (commercial hand soap, alcohol-based hand sanitizer, commercial bleach, and quaternary ammonium solution) were tested on a variety of surgical and patient examination gloves. The method of barrier performance evaluation was ASTM D5151-19, Standard Test Method for Detection of Holes in Medical Gloves. Our results indicated that the performance of the gloves after treatment was highly dependent on the composition of the medical gloves. In general, the surgical gloves in this study performed better than the patient examination gloves, regardless of the material from which they were made. Specifically, vinyl examination gloves tended to have poorer performance. In this study, the number of gloves available to test were limited and therefore statistical significance is beyond the scope of this project.
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Thiel CL, Sreedhar P, Silva GS, Greene HC, Seetharaman M, Durr M, Roberts T, Vedanthan R, Lee PH, Andrade G, El-Shahawy O, Hochman SE. Conservation Practices for Personal Protective Equipment: A Systematic Review with Focus on Lower-Income Countries. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:2575. [PMID: 36767940 PMCID: PMC9915410 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20032575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) necessitated unprecedented and non-validated approaches to conserve PPE at healthcare facilities, especially in high income countries where single-use disposable PPE was ubiquitous. Our team conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate historic approaches for conserving single-use PPE, expecting that lower-income countries or developing contexts may already be uniquely conserving PPE. However, of the 50 included studies, only 3 originated from middle-income countries and none originated from low-income countries. Data from the included studies suggest PPE remained effective with extended use and with multiple or repeated use in clinical settings, as long as donning and doffing were performed in a standard manner. Multiple decontamination techniques were effective in disinfecting single use PPE for repeated use. These findings can inform healthcare facilities and providers in establishing protocols for safe conservation of PPE supplies and updating existing protocols to improve sustainability and overall resilience. Future studies should evaluate conservation practices in low-resource settings during non-pandemic times to develop strategies for more sustainable and resilient healthcare worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra L. Thiel
- Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | | | - Genevieve S. Silva
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Hannah C. Greene
- Social Science Division, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 129188, United Arab Emirates
| | - Meenakshi Seetharaman
- College of Literature, Science, and Arts, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Meghan Durr
- Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Timothy Roberts
- Health Sciences Library, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Rajesh Vedanthan
- Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Paul H. Lee
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Gizely Andrade
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
| | - Omar El-Shahawy
- Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Sarah E. Hochman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
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Henriques TM, Rito B, Proença DN, Morais PV. Application of an Ultrasonic Nebulizer Closet in the Disinfection of Textiles and Footwear. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:10472. [PMID: 36078188 PMCID: PMC9518335 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191710472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the importance of disinfection processes in health safety. Textiles and footwear have been identified as vectors for spreading infections. Therefore, their disinfection can be crucial to controlling pathogens' dissemination. The present work aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a commercial disinfectant aerosolized by an ultrasonic nebulizer closet as an effective method for disinfecting textiles and footwear. The disinfection was evaluated in three steps: suspension tests; nebulization in a 0.08 m3 closet; nebulization in the upscaled 0.58 m3 closet. The disinfection process of textiles and footwear was followed by the use of bacteriophages, bacterial spores, and bacterial cells. The disinfection in the 0.58 m3 closet was efficient for textiles (4 log reduction) when bacteriophage Lambda, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacillus subtilis were used. The footwear disinfection was achieved (4 log reduction) in the 0.08 m3 closet for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Disinfection in an ultrasonic nebulization closet has advantages such as being quick, not wetting, being efficient on porous surfaces, and is performed at room temperature. Ultrasonic nebulization disinfection in a closet proves to be useful in clothing and footwear stores to prevent pathogen transmission by the items' widespread handling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago M. Henriques
- UCCCB—University of Coimbra Bacteria Culture Collection, Department of Life Science, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
- IATV—Instituto do Ambiente Tecnologia e Vida, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Beatriz Rito
- University of Coimbra, Centre for Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Processes, Department of Life Sciences, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Diogo N. Proença
- UCCCB—University of Coimbra Bacteria Culture Collection, Department of Life Science, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
- University of Coimbra, Centre for Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Processes, Department of Life Sciences, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Paula V. Morais
- UCCCB—University of Coimbra Bacteria Culture Collection, Department of Life Science, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
- University of Coimbra, Centre for Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Processes, Department of Life Sciences, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
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Blanchard EL, Lawrence JD, Noble JA, Xu M, Joo T, Ng NL, Schmidt BE, Santangelo PJ, Finn M. Enveloped Virus Inactivation on Personal Protective Equipment by Exposure to Ozone. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2020:2020.05.23.20111435. [PMID: 32511511 PMCID: PMC7273279 DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.23.20111435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Ozone is a highly oxidizing gas easily generated from atmospheric oxygen with inexpensive equipment and is commonly used for the disinfection of municipal water, foods, and surfaces. We report tests of the ability of ozone to inactivate enveloped respiratory viruses (influenza A virus and respiratory syncytial virus), chosen as more easily handled surrogates for SARS-CoV-2, on N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE) commonly used in hospitals. At 20 ppm, an ozone concentration easily achieved by standard commercial equipment, the viruses were inactivated with high efficiency as long as the relative humidity was above a threshold value of approximately 50%. In the absence of humidity control, disinfection is more variable and requires considerably longer exposure under relatively dry conditions. This report extends the observations of a previous publication (http://doi.org/10.1080/01919510902747969) to hospital-relevant materials and provides additional details about the relationship of humidity to the antiviral activity of ozone. Home CPAP disinfection devices using ozone can provide effective results for individuals. Ozone did not appear to degrade any of the materials tested except for elastic bands if strained during treatment (such as by the pressure exerted by stapled attachment to N95 respirators). The filtration efficiency of N95 respirator material was not compromised. Overall, we recommend exposures of at least 40 minutes to 20 ppm ozone and >70% relative humidity at ambient temperatures (21-24°C) for 4-log (99.99%) reduction of viral infectivity on a variety of PPE, including gowns, face shields, and respirators. Shorter exposure times are likely to be effective under these conditions, but at the risk of some variability for different materials. Higher ozone concentrations and higher humidity levels promoted faster inactivation of viruses. Our work suggests that ozone exposure can be a widely accessible method for disinfecting PPE, permitting safer re-use for healthcare workers and patients alike in times of shortage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmeline L. Blanchard
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Justin D. Lawrence
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jeffery A. Noble
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Minghao Xu
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Taekyu Joo
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Nga Lee Ng
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Britney E. Schmidt
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Philip J. Santangelo
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - M.G. Finn
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- School of Biological Sciences; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Reddy SC, Valderrama AL, Kuhar DT. Improving the Use of Personal Protective Equipment: Applying Lessons Learned. Clin Infect Dis 2019; 69:S165-S170. [DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciz619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Unrecognized transmission of pathogens in healthcare settings can lead to colonization and infection of both patients and healthcare personnel. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is an important strategy to protect healthcare personnel from contamination and to prevent the spread of pathogens to subsequent patients. However, optimal PPE use is difficult, and healthcare personnel may alter delivery of care because of the PPE. Here, we summarize recent research from the Prevention Epicenters Program on healthcare personnel contamination and improvement of the routine use of PPE as well as Ebola-specific PPE. Future efforts to optimize the use of PPE should include increasing adherence to protocols for PPE use, improving PPE design, and further research into the risks, benefits, and best practices of PPE use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujan C Reddy
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Amy L Valderrama
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - David T Kuhar
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
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