SV Series Ventilators Infection Control for COVID-19 March 2020

mindray The Challenge of COVID-19

No doubt that mechanical ventilation is one of the most effective therapy strategies for those patients that develop severe respiratory failure. However, if handling and disinfection are not done properly, the ventilators and the associated accessories will be act as a major source of contamination. Statistics from the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) and other media sources indicate that thousands of medical staff worldwide who work with COVID-19 have got infected. Reports from many countries revealed that the number of infected medical staff outside China has reached over a few thousand. The four main contributors to infections are: occupational exposure, device-associated infections, improper terminal infection and aerosol infections.

Main factors

of caregiver's infection

� Occupational exposure

Device-associated infections

a

Improper terminal disinfection

C •

Aerosol infections

Concensus of Infection Control for Ventilators As mentioned previously, one of the major sources of potential infection is from secretions and aersol dispersion from the patient. Therefore, it is vital to handle the ventilator properly before, during and after the ventilation procedures. As suggested in Expert Concensus of Mechanical Ventilation Infection Control for Novel Coronavirus from China in and the Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection by WHO 121, the following preventive measures should be taken:

1. Infection control during ventilation • Recommend using single-patient use circuits (water-trap with one-way valve mechanism). Patients with COVID-19 are not adviced to routinely change circuits unless damaged or soiled. Changing circuits leads to the dispersion of contaminated droplets and aerosols, as well as increased use of medical resources (workload and consumables). • Ventilator circuits have high concentration of pathogens, which may induce VAP. Therefori2, condensate should be