Decontamination of N95 respirators against SARS-CoV-2: A scoping review

Sarkis‐Onofre, Rafael; Borges, Rafaela do Carmo; Demarco, Giulia Tarquínio; Dotto, Lara; Schwendicke, Falk; Demarco, Flávio Fernando

doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2020.103534

Cited by 22 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…The targeted allocation of appropriate PPE is therefore of paramount importance for dental healthcare providers. Reuse of respirators may alleviate the problem of PPE scarcity, but further research into safe and cost-effective decontamination procedures is required [23].…”

Section: Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on urgent dental care delivery in a Swiss university center for dental medicine

et al. 2021

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Objectives This study aimed to assess whether the emergency service of a major Swiss dental institution faced different demands (patient volume, treatment needs, dental care characteristics) during a lockdown, issued to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with the weeks before and after. Materials and methods Data of patients receiving urgent care at a university center for dental medicine (Basel, Switzerland) during the 6-week lockdown, pre-lockdown, and post-lockdown periods were retrospectively evaluated. Statistical analysis involved tests for equal proportions and logistic regression models. The level of significance was set at α=0.05. Results The study comprised 3109 dental emergency visits in the period from February 2 to June 5, 2020. Daily caseloads increased during lockdown. Abscesses, orthodontic emergencies, and surgical follow-ups were more common during lockdown, whereas the number of dento-alveolar injuries declined (≤0.048). Urgent dental care provision involved intraoral radiographs more frequently in the pre-lockdown period compared with the following weeks (p<0.001). Among all treatments, aerosol-generating procedures dropped from 56.1% (pre-lockdown) to 21.3% during lockdown (p<0.001), while teledentistry follow-ups became more frequent (p<0.001). Patients with comorbidities sought urgent dental care less frequently during the post-lockdown period (p=0.004). Conclusions The lockdown significantly impacted the dental emergency service in terms of patients’ diagnoses, treatment needs, and the characteristics of the urgent care that was delivered. Clinical relevance Access to essential dental care must be monitored and safeguarded throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond as deferred care entails risks for serious sequelae and persons with comorbidities may change their dental care-seeking behavior.

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Section: Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on urgent dental care delivery in a Swiss university center for dental medicine

et al. 2021

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“…One-hour treatment in a climate chamber at 70 °C with 75% humidity rate was shown to be adequate for enabling substantial decontamination of FFP2s [ 7 ]. Recent literature reviews concluded that the evidence supporting appropriate decontamination strategies for FFP2 respirators remains scarce, although ultraviolet irradiation and vaporized hydrogen peroxide seem to be the current recommended standard [ 23 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation of Efficacy of Filtering Face Pieces Respirators over Time in a Dental Setting: A Pilot Study

2021

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Since aerosol continuously persists in dental settings, where different procedures and patients come in succession, the use of oronasal masks is highly recommended. Among them, respirators known as Filtering Face Pieces (FFP) show a protective superiority compared to surgical masks. Even concerning respirators classified as non-reusable, it is not known how many hours of use are necessary to compromise their filtering capacity. The aim of this study is to investigate the variations of filtering capacity of an FFP2 respirator over time, in order to safely optimize the timing of its use. Five respirators were worn by the same operator during clinical activity for different usage times (8, 16, 24, 32, 40 h), and one respirator was kept unused. All respirators underwent a bacterial filtration efficacy (BFE) test. T-test for paired data with Bootstrap technique and Wilcoxon test for paired data compared BFE values of the five tested FFP2s respectively at each time, and the areas with the corresponding values of the control respirator (FFp2-F). A generalized linear mixed effect model (GLM) was applied considering type of respirator and time as fixed effects and intercept as random effect. No significant statistical differences were present in the BFE of each time. Data obtained by the present study highlight the important ability of FFP2s to maintain their BFE over time, suggesting a long lasting protective function.

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“…There are several meta-analyses that compare the performance of various mask decontamination methods. [ 106 , 118 , [144] , [145] , [146] , [147] ] Although a certain degree of inconsistency exists, it appears that most meta-analyses have drawn the conclusion that VHP is the most reliable and safest method to decontaminate N95 masks for multiple cycles.…”

Section: Decontamination and Reuse Of Masksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Face masks against COVID-19: Standards, efficacy, testing and decontamination methods

Boisvert

Zuo

2021

Advances in Colloid and Interface Science

111

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has caused a global pandemic on a scale not seen for over a century. Increasing evidence suggests that respiratory droplets and aerosols are likely the most common route of transmission for SARS-CoV-2. Since the virus can be spread by presymptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, universal face masking has been recommended as a straightforward and low-cost strategy to mitigate virus transmission. Numerous governments and public health agencies around the world have advocated for or mandated the wearing of masks in public settings, especially in situations where social distancing is not possible. However, the efficacy of wearing a mask remains controversial. This interdisciplinary review summarizes the current, state-of-the-art understanding of mask usage against COVID-19. It covers three main aspects of mask usage amid the pandemic: quality standards for various face masks and their fundamental filtration mechanisms, empirical methods for quantitatively determining mask integrity and particle filtration efficiency, and decontamination methods that allow for the reuse of traditionally disposable N95 and surgical masks. The focus is given to the fundamental physicochemical and engineering sciences behind each aspect covered in this review, providing novel insights into the current understanding of mask usage to curb COVID-19 spread.

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Decontamination of N95 respirators against SARS-CoV-2: A scoping review

Cited by 22 publications

References 88 publications

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on urgent dental care delivery in a Swiss university center for dental medicine

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on urgent dental care delivery in a Swiss university center for dental medicine

Variation of Efficacy of Filtering Face Pieces Respirators over Time in a Dental Setting: A Pilot Study

Face masks against COVID-19: Standards, efficacy, testing and decontamination methods

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