Alnimr Amani, Alamri Aisha, Salama Khaled F, Radi Mahmoud, Bukharie Huda, Alshehri Bashayer, Rabaan Ali A, Alshahrani Mohammed
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine & King Fahad Hospital of the University, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2021 Nov 1;14:4469-4475. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S336085. eCollection 2021.
Data on the role of aerosolized hydrogen peroxide (AHP) systems in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic are still emerging. This study provides evidence of the environmental shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the hospital environment, and the efficacy of AHP to eliminate it.
A total of 324 environmental sites (224 surfaces and 100 air samples) belonging to 54 patient rooms were contextually collected and tested for genes of SARS-CoV-2 using RT-PCR assays and Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2.
The SARS-CoV-2 viral genome was detected in seven sites (2.5%) of three patients' rooms, including six highly touched surfaces and one air sample. Viral shedding was directly related to the distance from the patient, with 1, 1.9, and 3.5% of samples testing positive at 3, 2, and 1 meter, respectively (-value=0.02). None of the sites showed the viral genome following application of 6% AHP. Of note, the viral genome was detected at 2 meters of a mildly symptomatic case on a face mask in the absence of aerosol generating procedures.
Our data support the possible role of the hospital environment as a source of infection, and the efficacy of AHP to eliminate the virus. Further studies are needed to address the viability of the pathogen in these nosocomial sites and the cost-effectiveness of routine hospital disinfection procedures using AHP for SARS-CoV-2.
关于雾化过氧化氢（AHP）系统在控制新冠疫情中作用的数据仍在不断涌现。本研究提供了医院环境中严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）环境传播的证据，以及AHP消除该病毒的有效性。
共背景性地收集了54间病房的324个环境位点（224个表面和100个空气样本），并使用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测法和Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2检测SARS-CoV-2基因。
在三间病房的7个位点（2.5%）检测到SARS-CoV-2病毒基因组，包括6个高接触表面和1个空气样本。病毒传播与距患者的距离直接相关，在3米、2米和1米处分别有1%、1.9%和3.5%的样本检测呈阳性（P值=0.02）。在应用6% AHP后，所有位点均未检测到病毒基因组。值得注意的是，在未进行气溶胶生成操作的情况下，在一名轻症病例佩戴的口罩上2米处检测到病毒基因组。
我们的数据支持医院环境可能作为感染源的作用，以及AHP消除病毒的有效性。需要进一步研究来解决这些医院位点中病原体的生存能力以及使用AHP对SARS-CoV-2进行常规医院消毒程序的成本效益问题。
