TY - JOUR T1 - Autoclave sterilization and ethanol treatment of re-used surgical masks and N95 respirators during COVID-19: impact on their performance and integrity. AU - Grinshpun,S A, AU - Yermakov,M, AU - Khodoun,M, Y1 - 2020/06/27/ PY - 2020/05/10/received PY - 2020/06/22/accepted PY - 2020/7/1/pubmed PY - 2020/8/22/medline PY - 2020/6/30/entrez KW - COVID-19 KW - Collection KW - Disinfection KW - N95 respirator KW - Re-use KW - Surgical mask SP - 608 EP - 614 JF - The Journal of hospital infection JO - J Hosp Infect VL - 105 IS - 4 N2 - BACKGROUND: An exceptionally high demand for surgical masks and N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) during the COVID-19 pandemic has considerably exceeded their supply. These disposable devices are generally not approved for routine decontamination and re-use as a standard of care, while this practice has widely occurred in hospitals. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed it "as a crisis capacity strategy". However, limited testing was conducted on the impact of specific decontamination methods on the performance of N95 FFRs and no data was presented for surgical masks. AIM: We evaluated common surgical masks and N95 respirators with respect to the changes in their performance and integrity resulting from autoclave sterilization and a 70% ethanol treatment; these methods are frequently utilized for re-used filtering facepieces in hospitals. METHODS: The filter collection efficiency and pressure drop were determined for unused masks and N95 FFRs, and for those subjected to the treatments in a variety of ways. The collection efficiency was measured for particles of approximately 0.037-3.2 μm to represent aerosolized single viruses, their agglomerates, bacteria and larger particle carriers. FINDINGS: The initial collection efficiency and the filter breathability may be compromised by sterilization in an autoclave and ethanol treatment. The effect depends on a protective device, particle size, breathing flow rate, type of treatment and other factors. Additionally, physical damages were observed in N95 respirators after autoclaving. CONCLUSION: Strategies advocating decontamination and re-use of filtering facepieces in hospitals should be re-assessed considering the data obtained in this study. SN - 1532-2939 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32599011/Autoclave_sterilization_and_ethanol_treatment_of_re_used_surgical_masks_and_N95_respirators_during_COVID_19:_impact_on_their_performance_and_integrity_ L2 - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0195-6701(20)30315-7 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -