Detection of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces of an Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces in an Intensive Care Unit and to identify the role these surfaces may play in the transmission of this virus. The research was exploratory, descriptive, prospective, experimental research, with quantitative approach, conducted in the second half of 2020 in a public hospital of reference in the care for critically ill patients with COVID-19 in Santarém-Pará.It comprised 45 samples of surfaces of the most touched areas in the adult ITU of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 through RT-PCR: corresponding to 9 (nine) samples for each of the surfaces (on the mattress; side rails and bed control panel; mechanical ventilator circuit; bedside table and infusion pump). The samples were collected during the day in an occupied bed, using a swab on the extension of the surface. In the sequence they were submitted to the extraction process of genetic material, Ribonucleic Acid (RNA), of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and later submitted to the amplification of the genetic material.According to the data obtained, all the surface samples analyzed in the present study tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, considering that the analysis was performed in ITU, in the period when inpatients were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and in transmissibility phase. These results suggest that the risk of exposure to a contaminated surface within an ITU is low, provided that preventive measures and sanitization routines are maintained.Cleaning and disinfection of care surfaces, using the standard protocol recommended by the National Health Surveillance Agency - Anvisa, are considered effective measures in containing SARS-CoV-2 transmission and infectivity.