Abstract
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19 turned into a global pandemic in March 2020. During these unprecedented times, there is an increased demand in medical and personal protective equipment (PPE). Since the supplies may take a long time to meet the global demand, reusing PPEs will help health care workers in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure the safety and well-being of the medical first responders, PPE needs to be sterilized before reuse. In this review, we examine various sterilization techniques that can be used to sterilize PPEs and point out its limitations. The objective is to provide a foundation of knowledge incorporating different sterilization techniques that allow hospitals and clinics to pick the most suitable technique for sterilization of a particular PPE.
Highlights
The 2019 outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID19, in the city of Wuhan, China, turned into a global pandemic in March 2020
Since supplies may take a long time to meet the increased global demand, it is prudent that we explore sterilization approaches that would permit recycling and reuse of protective equipment (PPE) for the medical first responders, to help in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic
With a lifespan that could be more than 72 hours on plastic surfaces, it is essential that we explore techniques that could permit timely reuse of PPE as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The 2019 outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID19, in the city of Wuhan, China, turned into a global pandemic in March 2020. During these unprecedented times, health care workers are facing an imminent shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential medical supplies [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) director Dr Ghebreyesus said, ‘‘We can’t stop COVID-19 without protecting health workers first’’ [1]. Since supplies may take a long time to meet the increased global demand, it is prudent that we explore sterilization approaches that would permit recycling and reuse of PPEs for the medical first responders, to help in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several processes available for the sterilization of medical products, including chemicals, heat, ultraviolet radiation, and ionizing radiation
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