RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Environmental Contamination by SARS-CoV-2 During Noninvasive Ventilation in COVID-19
JF Respiratory Care
FD American Association for Respiratory Care
SP 1
OP 7
DO 10.4187/respcare.10323
VO 68
IS 1
A1 Dell’Olio, Alessio
A1 Vocale, Caterina
A1 Primavera, Alessandra
A1 Pisani, Lara
A1 Altavilla, Salvatore
A1 Roncarati, Greta
A1 Tumietto, Fabio
A1 Viale, Pierluigi
A1 Re, Maria Carla
A1 Lazzarotto, Tiziana
A1 Nava, Stefano
A1 Ranieri, V Marco
A1 Tonetti, Tommaso
YR 2023
UL http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/68/1/1.abstract
AB BACKGROUND: Environmental contamination by SARS-CoV-2 from patients with COVID-19 undergoing noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in the ICU is still under investigation. This study set out to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces near subjects receiving NIV in the ICU under controlled conditions (ie, use of dual-limb circuits, filters, adequate room ventilation).METHODS: This was a single-center, prospective, observational study in the ICU of a tertiary teaching hospital. Four surface sampling areas, at increasing distance from subject’s face, were identified; and each one was sampled at fixed intervals: 6, 12, and 24 h. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 was detected with real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) test on environmental swabs; the RT-PCR assay targeted the SARS-CoV-2 virus nucleocapsid N1 and N2 genes and the human RNase P gene as internal control.RESULTS: In a total of 256 collected samples, none were positive for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, whereas 21 samples (8.2%) tested positive for RNase P, thus demonstrating the presence of genetic material unrelated to SARS-CoV-2.CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that application of NIV in an appropriate environment and with correct precautions leads to no sign of surface environmental contamination. Accordingly, our data support the idea that use of NIV in the ICU is safe both for health care workers and for other patients.