Decontamination Protocol for N95 Respirators May Help With PPE Shortage
Klaus Mergener, MD, PhD, FASGE, reviewing Schwartz A, et al. Appl Biosaf 2020 March 27.
In an attempt to meet anticipated resource needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, many facilities are mandating the reuse of N95 respirators by their employees. While guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exists for “limited reuse,” the safety of such an approach has not been fully determined.
Duke University researchers have validated a protocol for decontaminating N95 respirators for reuse by health care workers. They utilized commercially available equipment to expose N95 respirators to up to 30 cycles of gassing with hydrogen peroxide vapor and demonstrated the effectiveness of this method using established biological indicators (elimination of bacterial spores). Decontaminated devices were then subjected to human-fit testing to confirm that they still functioned as designed.
COMMENT
N95 respirators are meant to be discarded after one use, but the projected magnitude of the COVID-19 outbreak and the current shortage of N95 masks make this strategy unrealistic. The Duke study provides welcomed evidence showing that decontamination and reuse of N95 masks may be accomplished without demonstrable damage to the device. It highlights the urgent need for entities to develop similar solutions to proactively address what could potentially be a grave occupational health issue. The widespread availability of the proposed hydrogen peroxide vapor method for decontamination remains to be determined.
Note to readers: At the time we reviewed this paper, its publisher noted that it was not in final form and that subsequent changes might be made.
Klaus Mergener, MD, PhD, FASGE
CITATION(S)
Schwartz A, Stiegel M, Greeson N, et al. Decontamination and reuse of N95 respirators with hydrogen peroxide vapor to address worldwide personal protective equipment shortages during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Appl Biosaf 2020 March 27. (Epub ahead of print) (https://www.safety.duke.edu/sites/default/files/N-95_VHP-Decon-Re-Use.pdf)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recommended guidance for extended use and limited reuse of N95 filtering facepiece respirators in healthcare settings.
