Vapor H₂O₂ sterilization as a decontamination method for the reuse of N95 respirators in the COVID-19 emergency

There are a variety of methods routinely used in the sterilization of medical devices using hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) including vaporization, plasma generation and ionization. Many of these systems are used for sterilization and are validated for bioburden reduction using bacterial spores.

Here, we explored the benefits of using vaporized H₂O₂ (VHP) treatment of N95 respirators for emergency decontamination and reuse to alleviate PPE shortages for healthcare workers in the COVID-19 emergency. The factors that are considered for the effective reuse of these respirators are the fit, the filter efficiency and the decontamination/disinfection level for SARS-CoV-2, which is the causative virus for COVID-19 and other organisms of concern in the hospital environment such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Clostridium difficile. WE showed that the method did not affect fit or filter efficiency at least for one cycle and resulted in a >6 log reduction in bacterial spores and >3.8 log reduction in the infectious SARS-CoV2 load on N95 respirators.