Operative Care Division, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States of America.
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, OHSU, Portland, OR, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 Jul 23;16(7):e0255123. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255123. eCollection 2021.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, is responsible for a global pandemic characterized by high transmissibility and morbidity. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of contracting COVID-19, but this risk has been mitigated through the use of personal protective equipment such as N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs). At times the high demand for FFRs has exceeded supply, placing HCWs at increased exposure risk. Effective FFR decontamination of many FFR models using ultraviolet-C germicidal irradiation (UVGI) has been well-described, and could maintain respiratory protection for HCWs in the face of supply line shortages. Here, we detail the construction of an ultraviolet-C germicidal irradiation (UVGI) device using previously existing components available at our institution. We provide data on UV-C dosage delivered with our version of this device, provide information on how users can validate the UV-C dose delivered in similarly constructed systems, and describe a simple, novel methodology to test its germicidal effectiveness using in-house reagents and equipment. As similar components are readily available in many hospitals and industrial facilities, we provide recommendations on the local construction of these systems, as well as guidance and strategies towards successful institutional implementation of FFR decontamination.
新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）病毒引起的疾病，具有高传染性和高发病率，导致了全球大流行。医护人员（HCWs）有感染 COVID-19 的风险，但通过使用个人防护设备，如 N95 过滤式呼吸防护器（FFR），可以降低这种风险。有时，FFR 的高需求超过了供应，使 HCWs 面临更高的暴露风险。使用紫外线-C 杀菌辐照（UVGI）对许多 FFR 型号进行有效的 FFR 消毒已经得到了很好的描述，并且可以在供应线短缺的情况下为 HCWs 提供呼吸保护。在这里，我们详细介绍了使用我们机构现有的组件构建紫外线-C 杀菌辐照（UVGI）设备的情况。我们提供了有关我们所构建的设备的紫外线-C 剂量的数据，介绍了用户如何验证类似构建系统中提供的紫外线-C 剂量，并描述了一种使用内部试剂和设备测试其杀菌效果的简单、新颖的方法。由于许多医院和工业设施都有类似的组件，我们提供了关于在当地构建这些系统的建议，以及关于成功实施 FFR 消毒的指导和策略。
