Dataset Information

Viral contamination of aerosol and surfaces through toilet use in health care and other settings.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The airborne spreading of enteric viruses can occur through the aerosol and droplets produced by toilet flushing. These can contaminate the surrounding environment, but few data exist to estimate the risk of exposure and infection. For this reason environmental monitoring of air and selected surfaces was carried out in 2 toilets of an office building and in 3 toilets of a hospital before and after cleaning operations.

Methods

To reveal the presence of norovirus, enterovirus, rhinovirus, human rotavirus, and Torque teno virus and to quantify human adenovirus and bacteria counts, molecular and cultural methods were used.

Results

On the whole, viruses were detected on 78% of surfaces and in 81% of aerosol. Among the researched viruses, only human adenovirus and Torque teno virus were found in both surface and air samples. In several cases the same adenovirus strain was concurrently found in all matrices. Bacterial counts were unrelated to viral presence and cleaning did not seem to substantially reduce contamination.

Conclusions

The data collected in our study confirm that toilets are an important source of viral contamination, mainly in health care settings, where disinfection can have a crucial role in preventing virus spread.

SUBMITTER: Verani M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7132667 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Viral contamination of aerosol and surfaces through toilet use in health care and other settings.

Verani Marco M Bigazzi Roberto R Carducci Annalaura A

American journal of infection control 20140510 7

<h4>Background</h4>The airborne spreading of enteric viruses can occur through the aerosol and droplets produced by toilet flushing. These can contaminate the surrounding environment, but few data exist to estimate the risk of exposure and infection. For this reason environmental monitoring of air and selected surfaces was carried out in 2 toilets of an office building and in 3 toilets of a hospital before and after cleaning operations.<h4>Methods</h4>To reveal the presence of norovirus, enterov ...[more]

PMID: 24818773

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Project description:ImportanceThe aerosol box has been used during the management of patients with COVID-19 to reduce health care practitioner (HCP) exposure during aerosol-generating medical procedures (AGMPs). Little is known about the effect of aerosol box use on HCP contamination and AGMP procedure time.ObjectiveTo investigate whether use of an aerosol box during AGMPs reduces HCP contamination or influences the time to successful completion and first-pass success rate for endotracheal intubation (ETI) and laryngeal mask airway (LMA) insertion.Design, setting, and participantsThis multicenter, simulation-based, randomized clinical trial was conducted from May to December 2021 at tertiary care pediatric hospitals. Participant teams performed 3 simulated patient scenarios: bag-valve-mask ventilation, ETI, and LMA insertion. During the scenarios, aerosols were generated using Glo Germ. Teams of 2 HCPs were randomly assigned to control (no aerosol box) or intervention groups (aerosol box). Statistical analysis was performed from July 2022 to February 2023.InterventionsThe aerosol box (or SplashGuard CG) is a transparent, plastic barrier covering the patient's head and shoulders with access ports allowing HCPs to manage the airway.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was surface area of contamination (AOC) on participants. Secondary outcomes were time to successful completion and first-pass success rates for ETI and LMA insertion.ResultsA total of 64 teams (128 participants) were enrolled, with data from 61 teams (122 participants) analyzed. Among the 122 participants analyzed, 79 (64.8%) were female and 85 (69.7%) were physicians. Use of an aerosol box was associated with a 77.5% overall decreased AOC to the torso (95% CI, -86.3% to -62.9%; P < .001) and a 60.7% overall decreased AOC to the facial area (95% CI, -75.2% to -37.8%; P < .001) in airway HCPs. There was no statistically significant difference in surface contamination after doffing personal protective equipment between groups. Time to completing ETI was longer in the aerosol box group compared with the control group (mean difference: 10.2 seconds; 95% CI, 0.2 to 20.2 seconds; P = .04), but there was no difference between groups for LMA insertion (mean difference: 2.4 seconds; 95% CI, -8.7 to 13.5 seconds; P = .67).Conclusions and relevanceIn this randomized clinical trial of aerosol box use in AGMPs, use of an aerosol box reduced contamination deposition on HCPs' torso and face predoffing; the use of an aerosol box delayed time to successful intubation. These results suggest that the incremental benefits of reduced surface contamination from aerosol box use should be weighed against delayed time to complete intubation, which may negatively affect patient outcome.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04880668.

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Dataset Information

Viral contamination of aerosol and surfaces through toilet use in health care and other settings.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Viral contamination of aerosol and surfaces through toilet use in health care and other settings.

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