American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Jan 2021
N95 reprocessing by low temperature sterilization with 59% vaporized hydrogen peroxide during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Response to the COVID-19 pandemic by hospital systems has been strained by severe shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly N95 respirators. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed decontamination strategies to prolong the lifespan of single use respirators. Battelle and Duke University have validated hospital protocols to decontaminate respirators using vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) at 30%-35% concentrations. To prolong our supply of respirators, we evaluated and implemented VHP decontamination at 59% hydrogen peroxide concentration while detailing the effects of this process on the filtration efficiency and quantitative fit of single-use respirators. This study may help other health systems develop local solutions to their N95 mask shortage during this COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ We have successfully demonstrated that N95 respirator decontamination with VHP at 59% hydrogen peroxide can be safely utilized to decontaminate single-use N95 respirators without significant effects on filtration efficiency or quantitative fit testing. With the COVID-19 pandemic and N95 respirator shortage, health systems without access to commercial decontamination processes should investigate the viability of such a process in their facilities.
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Am J Infect Control · Jan 2021
Effectiveness of pulsed xenon ultraviolet disinfection for Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile surface contamination in a Japanese hospital.
Contaminated environmental surfaces are important sources of transmission for healthcare-associated pathogens, including Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile. The effectiveness of manual bleach cleaning and pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) disinfection on C. difficile contamination of hospital room high-touch surfaces in Japan was evaluated. ⋯ PX-UV disinfection in addition to manual nonbleach cleaning effectively reduces C. difficile contamination from high-touch surfaces. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the effect of PX-UV disinfection on CDI rates in Japanese hospitals.
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Am J Infect Control · Jan 2021
Developing and implementing an infection prevention and control program for a COVID-19 alternative care site in Philadelphia, PA.
On March 27, 2020, the city of Philadelphia was given permission by Temple University to convert the Liacouras Center gymnasium to an alternate care site (ACS) to treat low-acuity COVID-19 patients. ACSs, especially those created to specifically care for infectious patients, require a robust infection prevention and control (IPC) program. ⋯ Planning, executing, and evaluating IPC standards and requirements of an ACS during a pandemic requires creative and nimble strategies to adapt, substitute, conserve, reuse, and reallocate IPC space, staff, stuff, and systems.