Respiratory masks are clearly designed for single-use only but hospitals worldwide are facing an emergency due to shortages of personal protective gear while treating COVID-19 patients. Currently many customers are reaching out for guidance on how to reprocess respiratory masks, even though neither the masks, nor the sterilizers, are intended for this purpose. Considering customers forced into exceptional circumstances during COVID-19 public health emergency, Getinge has outlined guidelines based on evidence on how to best reprocess.
Getinge’s steam sterilizers and low temperature VH2O2 sterilizers are not intended for reprocessing single-use products and the same goes for the respiratory masks used by health care professionals – they are designed for one-time use only. Nevertheless, during the COVID-19 public health emergency the topic is still raising questions as many customers are reaching out to Getinge for guidance.
“We have decided not to leave these burning questions unanswered. First, I must say that we strongly advocate for single-use as per the mask manufacturers recommendations and insist that we cannot take a firm commitment of the result of reprocessing masks. But we still now choose to guide our customers on how to best reprocess their masks, if they were forced to during this exceptional shortage situation,” says Stéphane Le Roy, President Surgical Workflows at Getinge.
The temporary guidelines include a set of recommendations based on existing academic studies, not carried out by Getinge, and they are only applicable to COVID-19 related cases during the ongoing pandemic. The guidelines are only to use together with user instruction for respective equipment, and does not replace the ordinary user instructions.
For further question, reach out to your local Getinge Sales Representative.
Download the guidelines “Reuse of Respirator Masks During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency” >>