Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Corporate Supply Chain, Yale New Haven Health System, New Haven, Connecticut.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2022 Jan;43(1):45-47. doi: 10.1017/ice.2021.48. Epub 2021 Feb 9.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to global shortages of N95 respirators. Reprocessing of used N95 respirators may provide a higher filtration crisis alternative, but whether effective sterilization can be achieved for a virus without impairing respirator function remains unknown. We evaluated the viricidal efficacy of Bioquell vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) on contaminated N95 respirators and tested the particulate particle penetration and inhalation and exhalation resistance of respirators after multiple cycles of VHP.
For this study, 3M 1870 N95 respirators were contaminated with 3 aerosolized bacteriophages: T1, T7, and Pseudomonas phage phi-6 followed by 1 cycle of VHP decontamination using a BQ-50 system. Additionally, new and unused respirators were sent to an independent laboratory for particulate filter penetration testing and inhalation and exhalation resistance after 3 and 5 cycles of VHP.
A single VHP cycle resulted in complete eradication of bacteriophage from respirators (limit of detection 10 PFU). Respirators showed acceptable limits for inhalation/exhalation resistance after 3 and 5 cycles of VHP. Respirators demonstrated a filtration efficiency >99 % after 3 cycles, but filtration efficiency fell below 95% after 5 cycles of HPV.
Bioquell VHP demonstrated high viricidal activity for N95 respirators inoculated with aerosolized bacteriophages. Bioquell technology can be scaled for simultaneous decontamination of a large number of used but otherwise intact respirators. Reprocessing should be limited to 3 cycles due to concerns both about impact of clinical wear and tear on fit, and to decrement in filtration after 3 cycles.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行导致全球 N95 呼吸器短缺。再处理已使用的 N95 呼吸器可能提供更高的过滤危机替代方案，但在不损害呼吸器功能的情况下，是否能有效对病毒进行消毒仍不得而知。我们评估了 Bioquell 汽化过氧化氢（VHP）对污染的 N95 呼吸器的杀病毒效果，并测试了 VHP 多次循环后呼吸器的颗粒物穿透率以及吸气和呼气阻力。
在这项研究中，用 3 种气溶胶化噬菌体：T1、T7 和假单胞菌噬菌体 phi-6 污染 3M 1870 N95 呼吸器，然后使用 BQ-50 系统进行 1 个 VHP 循环的消毒。此外，新的和未使用的呼吸器被送到一个独立的实验室，在 3 个和 5 个 VHP 循环后进行颗粒物过滤效率测试和吸气、呼气阻力测试。
单个 VHP 循环可彻底清除呼吸器上的噬菌体（检测限 10 PFU）。呼吸器在经过 3 个和 5 个 VHP 循环后，吸气/呼气阻力仍在可接受范围内。呼吸器在经过 3 个循环后过滤效率>99%，但在经过 5 个循环的 HPV 后过滤效率降至 95%以下。
Bioquell VHP 对气溶胶化噬菌体污染的 N95 呼吸器具有很高的杀病毒活性。Bioquell 技术可用于同时对大量使用但完好的呼吸器进行消毒。由于担心临床磨损对贴合度的影响以及 3 个循环后过滤效率下降，再处理应限制在 3 个循环内。
