Source avec lien : Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 66(2). 10.1093/annweh/wxab100
L’objectif de cette étude était d’évaluer la faisabilité de l’utilisation d’un échantillonneur à filtre de grand volume, BioCapture z720, pour détecter le SRAS-CoV-2 dans les chambres des patients COVID-19 d’une unité de soins intensifs médicaux, dans une salle dédiée aux COVID-19 et aux postes d’infirmières.
Aerosolization of SARS-CoV-2 by COVID-19 patients can put healthcare workers and susceptible individuals at risk of infection. Air sampling for SARS-CoV-2 has been conducted in healthcare settings, but methods vary widely and there is need for improvement. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a high-volume filter sampler, BioCapture z720, to detect SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patient rooms in a medical intensive care unit, a dedicated COVID-19 ward, and at nurses’ stations. In some locations, the BioSpot-VIVAS, known for high efficiency in the collection of virus-containing bioaerosols, was also operated. The samples were processed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA with multi-plex nested polymerase chain reaction. One of 28 samples collected with the high-volume filter sampler was positive for SARS-CoV-2; all 6 samples collected with BioSpot-VIVAS were negative for SARS-CoV-2. The high-volume filter sampler was more portable and less intrusive in patient rooms than the BioSpot-VIVAS, but limits of detection remain unknown for this device. This study will inform future work to evaluate the reliability of these types of instruments and inform best practices for their use in healthcare environments for SARS-CoV-2 air sampling.