Aerosol Production During Blood and Urine Pre-analytical Processing and Handling in a Hospital Biochemistry Clinical Laboratory During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Marie-Eve Dubuis,Caroline Duchaine

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.643724

Marie-Eve Dubuis, Caroline Duchaine

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.643724

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Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has created a troublesome issue for employees in biochemistry clinical laboratories due to fears of aerosol generation during sample treatment. This study was designed to assess aerosol production during the pre-analytical procedures for blood and urine samples using a model bacterium. Air sampling and surface swabbing were conducted during four typical procedures. Bacteria were not recovered in any air or surface samples. Other studies have reported low and undetectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA in blood and urine samples, respectively. Therefore, the occupational risk for employees appears to be low in terms of aerosol exposure from processing SARS-CoV-2 patient samples.

Highlights

Clinical biochemistry laboratories (CBLs) treat and analyze hundreds of patient samples on a daily basis
After the 48-h incubation period, no colonies were detected on the Petri dishes for air or surface samples, as well as for the liquid culture titration
This study was conducted to estimate the potential aerosolization of SARS-CoV-2 from processed blood and urine samples in a CBL

Summary

Introduction

Clinical biochemistry laboratories (CBLs) treat and analyze hundreds of patient samples on a daily basis. The majority of the samples are from total blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, bronchoalveolar fluid and other fluids. According to the internal procedures at the CBL that was visited, samples are usually treated on a bench without aspiration. Gloves are mandatory for the majority of the procedures. When there is a suspected or confirmed case of certain infectious diseases, employees can prepare samples from infected patients in a biosafety level (BSL) II cabinet and wear additional protective equipment such as procedure masks and safety glasses. Bronchoalveolar fluid samples related to COVID-19 must be treated in a BSL II cabinet

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