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While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says healthcare workers should ideally wear new personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic, strained supplies have caused the agency to weigh alternatives. safe for reuse, such as dry heat.
“While [health care personnel] must continue to use a new, FDA-approved or approved respirator when available according to existing healthcare organization protocols, in the event of a supply shortage, reuse of decontaminated or low-bioburden respirators is [a] potential option, ”according to a new guidance released Wednesday.
“In certain circumstances, single use, disposable [filtering facepiece respirators,] [which includes N95s,] can be reused a limited number of times if it is properly decontaminated or if it has undergone a sufficient reduction in the microbial load ”, the guide states.
The FDA says dry heat can help reduce the microbial load (or microorganisms present) on respirators like N95s to save on supplies in the face of potential shortages.
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The FDA has stated that systems using dry heat are OK when:
- Constant temperatures of 70 degrees Celsius for at least 60 minutes for sufficient reduction in the microbial load or 75 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes
- Accurate evaluation of chamber temperatures ensures even heat distribution
- There is a “highly controlled heat transfer” (as in a laboratory oven or an industrial convection oven)
- The system is not a household appliance like an oven or pressure cooker due to imprecision of temperature control and the possibility of cross contamination
However, the agency advised discarding masks in certain situations, such as during aerosol-generating procedures (common in dentistry), masks that become difficult to breathe, and masks contaminated with blood or other bodily fluids from patients. , among other circumstances.
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had previously advised health workers to store used N95s in a “breathable paper bag” after work shifts with at least five days between each use, as well as to avoid to spread the pathogen to the carrier.
“This will give the pathogens in there time to ‘die’ during storage,” the CDC wrote on its webpage. The agency also advised against wearing the same mask more than five times.
The FDA said on Wednesday that its new guidance, which you can read more about here, should be followed “in conjunction with, and not instead of, existing CDC’s reuse recommendations.”
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