tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Am J Infect Control
. 2022 Nov 11;S0196-6553(22)00787-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.10.017. Online ahead of print.
Viral contamination on the surfaces of the personal protective equipment among healthcare professionals working in COVID-19 wards: a single-center prospective, observational study
Li-Hao Peng[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ya-Juan Chen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Shi-Yi Yang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Guo-Jiang Wang[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Yan-Hua Gu[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Bao-Liang Shen[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Li-Zhen Liu[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Rui-Xing Xian[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Xian-Hua Li[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Shu-Yun Li[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Zhen-Ni Dai[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Fei-Peng Xu[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Jian-Rong Hu[SUP] 13 [/SUP], Fei Wang[SUP] 14 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate potential viral contamination on the surfaces of personal protective equipment (PPE) in COVID-19 wards.
Methods: Face shields, gloves, the chest area of the PPE and shoe soles were sampled at different time points. The samples were tested for the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by PCR, and the cycle threshold (CT) values were recorded for quantification. The positive rates of different types of PPE samples and their CT values and the CT values of specimens from different spots were compared.
Results: The positive rate was 74.7% (239/320) for all PPE specimens and was highest for gloves (96.25%, 77/80) and shoe soles (92.5%, 74/80). The CT values of the samples were ranked in the following order: face shields > chests > gloves > shoe soles (37.08±1.38, 35.48±2.02, 34.17±1.91 and 33.52±3.16, respectively; P for trend <0.001). After disinfection, the CT values of shoe soles decreased significantly compared with before disinfection (32.78±3.47 vs. 34.3±2.61, P=0.037), whereas no significant effect of disinfection on the CT values of face shields, chests and gloves was observed. After disinfection (disinfection period), the CT values of specimens collected from shoe soles gradually increased; before disinfection (nondisinfection period), the CT values of shoe sole specimens were all less than 35.
Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 can attach to the surfaces of the PPE of healthcare professionals working in a designated hospital, especially the soles of shoes and undisinfected gloves. Shoe soles had the highest SARS-CoV-2 loads among all tested PPE items.
Keywords: Nosocomial infection; Personal protective equipment; SARS-CoV-2.
. 2022 Nov 11;S0196-6553(22)00787-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.10.017. Online ahead of print.
Viral contamination on the surfaces of the personal protective equipment among healthcare professionals working in COVID-19 wards: a single-center prospective, observational study
Li-Hao Peng[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ya-Juan Chen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Shi-Yi Yang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Guo-Jiang Wang[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Yan-Hua Gu[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Bao-Liang Shen[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Li-Zhen Liu[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Rui-Xing Xian[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Xian-Hua Li[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Shu-Yun Li[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Zhen-Ni Dai[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Fei-Peng Xu[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Jian-Rong Hu[SUP] 13 [/SUP], Fei Wang[SUP] 14 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 36375705
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.10.017
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate potential viral contamination on the surfaces of personal protective equipment (PPE) in COVID-19 wards.
Methods: Face shields, gloves, the chest area of the PPE and shoe soles were sampled at different time points. The samples were tested for the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by PCR, and the cycle threshold (CT) values were recorded for quantification. The positive rates of different types of PPE samples and their CT values and the CT values of specimens from different spots were compared.
Results: The positive rate was 74.7% (239/320) for all PPE specimens and was highest for gloves (96.25%, 77/80) and shoe soles (92.5%, 74/80). The CT values of the samples were ranked in the following order: face shields > chests > gloves > shoe soles (37.08±1.38, 35.48±2.02, 34.17±1.91 and 33.52±3.16, respectively; P for trend <0.001). After disinfection, the CT values of shoe soles decreased significantly compared with before disinfection (32.78±3.47 vs. 34.3±2.61, P=0.037), whereas no significant effect of disinfection on the CT values of face shields, chests and gloves was observed. After disinfection (disinfection period), the CT values of specimens collected from shoe soles gradually increased; before disinfection (nondisinfection period), the CT values of shoe sole specimens were all less than 35.
Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 can attach to the surfaces of the PPE of healthcare professionals working in a designated hospital, especially the soles of shoes and undisinfected gloves. Shoe soles had the highest SARS-CoV-2 loads among all tested PPE items.
Keywords: Nosocomial infection; Personal protective equipment; SARS-CoV-2.