This week, we share a new, comprehensive systemic review that highlights two emerging approaches to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in hospitals: portable air disinfection units and disinfection of the EPI surface.
A new systematic and comprehensive review provides an overview of biocides intended to decontaminate air, skin and other biological surfaces, and environmental surfaces (including PPE) potentially contaminated with SARS-CoV-2. The new test concluded that a wide range of disinfectants have activity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but is not known for its hardness. And he highlighted some emerging approaches to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in hospitals: the use of portable air disinfection units,and the disinfection of the EPI surface.
The analysis included a useful section on the survival properties of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, making it clear that it can survive for hours to days on surfaces. The conditions used to test the stability of the virus have a major impact on survival times, suggesting that environmental parameters will influence the degree to which transmission of the virus comes into play.
A wide range of disinfectants have been shown to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 for superficial disinfection. This includes alcohol, aldehydes, ammonium quaternary compounds, phenols, chlorine-based agents, among others. There is also a small part of the review highlighting some early-stage work on antimicrobial surface coatings with some activity against SARS-CoV-2,which is promising for futureapplications.
The review summarized some studies that evaluated the ability to decontaminate the skin and other biological surfaces potentially contaminated with SARS-CoV-2. The evidence base is limited, but it appears that alcohol and povidonto-iodine are effective skin disinfectants, with chlorhexidine gluconate showing less efficacy in laboratory-scale studies. The review covered a small number of articles that analyzed different approaches to addressing air potentially contaminated with SARS-CoV-2. UV is the most studied and probably most reliable option, although others have been evaluated. The test did not cover air filtration approaches, which may be more effective than attempting to disinfect air with a chemical or physical process.
Finally, the methods to decontaminate the surface of the PPE were reviewed. Most often, PPE is used for a single contact with patients and then discarded. During the pandemic, the use of "session" OF PPE became much more common, that is, the use of the same item of PPE to care for several patients. In addition, reusable PPE that needs to be decontaminated has become widely available during the pandemic. Several different methods are promising for PPE decontamination, including hydrogen peroxide vapor, ozone and UV.
Overall, the review provides a useful summary of the various decontamination approaches available for air, skin, and surfaces potentially contaminated with SARS-CoV-2. Help spread the word and share this article on social media.
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