Abstract:
Single-use filtering face respirators (FFRs) are critical pieces of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers treating patients with suspected upper respiratory tract pathogens. Experiences during pandemics in the 2000s, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-2-CoV-2, have highlighted concerns over the pressures that sustained respiratory virus pandemics may have on supplies of FFRs globally. Decontamination of FFRs has been posited as one solution to support the re-use of FFRs with a growing body of literature over the last 10+ years beginning to examine both the efficacy of disinfection of contaminated FFRs but also the impact of the decontamination process on the FFR\'s performance. Physical and chemical methods of decontamination have been tested for treatment of FFRs with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, sterilization by steam, ethylene oxide and vaporous hydrogen peroxide, demonstrating the most promising results thus far. Many of these methods utilize existing equipment that may already be available in hospitals and could be re-purposed for FFR decontamination. Importantly, some methods may also be replicated on household equipment, broadening the utility of FFR decontamination across a range of healthcare settings. Utilizing techniques to experimentally contaminate FFRs with a range of microorganisms, most decontamination methods appear to reduce the risk of the mask as a source of infection to the wearer and others to negligible levels. The performance of the filter, especially the efficiency of particle penetration following treatment, varied greatly depending on the processing method as well as the model of the filter itself, however. Urgent regulatory body-supported research is required to endorse the routine decontamination of FFRs. In emergency settings, these methods should nevertheless be carefully considered as one strategy to address potential shortfalls in supplies of FFRs for healthcare workers.
摘要:
一次性过滤面部呼吸器(FFR)是医护人员治疗疑似上呼吸道病原体患者的重要个人防护设备。2000年代大流行期间的经验,以及由SARS-2-CoV-2引起的持续的COVID-19大流行,突显了人们对持续的呼吸道病毒大流行可能对全球FFRs供应造成的压力的担忧。在过去的10多年中,越来越多的文献开始研究被污染的FFRs的消毒功效以及净化过程对FFR性能的影响,FFR的净化已被认为是支持FFRs重复使用的一种解决方案。已对使用紫外线杀菌辐照处理FFRs的物理和化学去污方法进行了测试,蒸汽灭菌,环氧乙烷和气态过氧化氢,展示了迄今为止最有希望的结果。这些方法中的许多方法利用可能已经在医院中可用的现有设备,并且可以重新用于FFR净化。重要的是,一些方法也可以在家用设备上复制,在一系列医疗保健环境中扩大FFR净化的效用。利用实验技术用一系列微生物污染FFRs,大多数净化方法似乎将口罩作为佩戴者和其他人的感染源的风险降低到可以忽略不计的水平。过滤器的性能,特别是处理后颗粒渗透的效率,根据滤波器本身的处理方法和模型的不同,however.需要紧急监管机构支持的研究来批准FFRs的常规净化。在紧急设置中,然而,这些方法应被仔细考虑,作为解决医护人员FFR供应潜在短缺的一种策略.