3D printing of face shields to meet the immediate need for PPE in an anesthesiology department during the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19
Personal protective equipment
Safety
Journal
American journal of infection control
ISSN: 1527-3296
Titre abrégé: Am J Infect Control
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 8004854
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
03 2021
03 2021
Historique:
received:
02
05
2020
revised:
24
07
2020
accepted:
27
07
2020
pubmed:
9
8
2020
medline:
9
3
2021
entrez:
9
8
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Anesthesia providers are at risk for contracting COVID-19 due to close patient contact, especially during shortages of personal protective equipment. We present an easy to follow and detailed protocol for producing 3D printed face shields and an effective decontamination protocol, allowing their reuse. The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) produced face shields using a combination of 3D printing and assembly with commonly available products, and produced a simple decontamination protocol to allow their reuse. To evaluate the effectiveness of the decontamination protocol, we inoculated bacterial suspensions of E. coli and S. aureus on to the face shield components, performed the decontamination procedure, and finally swabbed and enumerated organisms onto plates that were incubated for 12-24 hours. Decontamination effectiveness was evaluated using the average log10 reduction in colony counts. Approximately 112 face shields were constructed and made available for use in 72 hours. These methods were successfully implemented for in-house production at UNMC and at Tripler Army Medical Center (Honolulu, Hawaii). Overall, the decontamination protocol was highly effective against both E. coli and S. aureus, achieving a ≥4 log10 (99.99%) reduction in colony counts for every replicate from each component of the face shield unit. Face shields not only act as a barrier against the soiling of N95 face masks, they also serve as more effective eye protection from respiratory droplets over standard eye shields. Implementation of decontamination protocols successfully allowed face shield and N95 mask reuse, offering a higher level of protection for anesthesiology providers at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a time of urgent need, our protocol enabled the rapid production of face shields by individuals with little to no 3D printing experience, and provided a simple and effective decontamination protocol allowing reuse of the face shields.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Anesthesia providers are at risk for contracting COVID-19 due to close patient contact, especially during shortages of personal protective equipment. We present an easy to follow and detailed protocol for producing 3D printed face shields and an effective decontamination protocol, allowing their reuse.
METHODS
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) produced face shields using a combination of 3D printing and assembly with commonly available products, and produced a simple decontamination protocol to allow their reuse. To evaluate the effectiveness of the decontamination protocol, we inoculated bacterial suspensions of E. coli and S. aureus on to the face shield components, performed the decontamination procedure, and finally swabbed and enumerated organisms onto plates that were incubated for 12-24 hours. Decontamination effectiveness was evaluated using the average log10 reduction in colony counts.
RESULTS
Approximately 112 face shields were constructed and made available for use in 72 hours. These methods were successfully implemented for in-house production at UNMC and at Tripler Army Medical Center (Honolulu, Hawaii). Overall, the decontamination protocol was highly effective against both E. coli and S. aureus, achieving a ≥4 log10 (99.99%) reduction in colony counts for every replicate from each component of the face shield unit.
DISCUSSION
Face shields not only act as a barrier against the soiling of N95 face masks, they also serve as more effective eye protection from respiratory droplets over standard eye shields. Implementation of decontamination protocols successfully allowed face shield and N95 mask reuse, offering a higher level of protection for anesthesiology providers at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CONCLUSIONS
In a time of urgent need, our protocol enabled the rapid production of face shields by individuals with little to no 3D printing experience, and provided a simple and effective decontamination protocol allowing reuse of the face shields.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32763350
pii: S0196-6553(20)30762-8
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.07.037
pmc: PMC7402098
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
302-308Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2020 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. All rights reserved.