Abstract
Decontamination of N95 respirators is being used by clinicians in the face of a global shortage of these devices. Some treatments for decontamination, such as some vaporized hydrogen peroxide methods or ultraviolet methods, had no impact on respiratory performance, while other treatments resulted in substantial damage to masks.
Highlights
Frontline clinicians rely on the availability of personal protection equipment (PPE), such as N95 respirators, to reduce the risk of personal infection from exposure to respiratory droplets from infected individuals
Others have proposed the use of different methods, such as gas plasma hydrogen peroxide or ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) treatments
N95 respirators were obtained from hospitals actively using various decontamination techniques, and respirators were donned on a mannequin that was covered in a layer of soft closed-cell foam
Summary
Frontline clinicians rely on the availability of personal protection equipment (PPE), such as N95 respirators, to reduce the risk of personal infection from exposure to respiratory droplets from infected individuals. Several institutions have proposed the use of decontamination techniques to allow reuse of N95 respirators. Battelle has deployed a series of custom-designed vaporized hydrogen peroxide (vHP) sterilizers across the country.[3] Others have proposed the use of different methods, such as gas plasma hydrogen peroxide (gpHP) or ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) treatments. This methodology has eased the shortages of respirators, but an open question remains: Do respirators continue to protect a wearer after decontamination?. An urgent need exists to understand the quantitative effects on respirator filtration with the use of these techniques so that wearers remain protected
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