Ultraviolet light disinfection can be used on personal protective equipment, while the healthcare worker is still wearing it, to reduce the risk of possible contamination while taking off the PPE, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
The study examined the use of pulsed xenon UV light from Xenex as a way to mitigate risk for healthcare workers treating Ebola patients and reduce transmission in the event of a doffing error. Doffing PPE after treating patients who have this or other highly infectious diseases can be dangerous because they can become infected if doffing is not done properly.
Researchers examined the effectiveness of pulsed xenon UV disinfection against an Ebola surrogate virus on a dry surface, its effectiveness against PPE material inoculated with an Ebola surrogate virus and the level of UV exposure for a person wearing the PPE.
They found that the UV light disinfection reduced the contamination levels of the Ebola surrogate virus on the PPE material and that exposure to the person through a face shield and gown was less than established UV exposure limits.
"Predoffing disinfection with PX-UV has potential as an additive measure to the doffing practice guidelines," the study authors concluded, but they noted that the PPE should not be considered sterilized — instead, it should be considered contaminated and disposed of following established protocols.