The following is the summary of “Environmental Contamination by SARS-CoV-2 During Noninvasive Ventilation in COVID-19” published in the January 2023 issue of Respiratory Care by Dell’Olio, et al.

It is still being investigated whether or not patients with COVID-19 receiving noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in the ICU contaminated the surrounding environment with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Purpose researchers aimed to examine, under controlled conditions, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces in close proximity to people receiving NIV in the intensive care unit (i.e., use of dual-limb circuits, filters, adequate room ventilation).

This was a prospective, single-site observational study conducted in the intensive care unit of a large academic medical center. Samples were taken at 6, 12, and 24-hour intervals from four different locations on the subject’s body, each further away from the subject’s face than the last. The RT-PCR technique targeted the SARS-CoV-2 viral nucleocapsid N1 and N2 genes, with the human RNaseP gene serving as an internal reference, and was used to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in environmental swabs. In a total of 256 samples, not a single one tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 DNA, but 8.2 % of the samples were positive for RNase P, indicating the presence of DNA unrelated to SARS-CoV-2.

Their findings indicate that when NIV is used in the right place and with the right safeguards, it does not contaminate the surface environment. As a result, their findings lend credence to the contention that NIV’s usage in the ICU poses no threat to the wellbeing of either medical personnel or other patients.

Source: rc.rcjournal.com/content/68/1/1