Introducción: La pandemia por SARS-CoV-2 ha llevado a la necesidad de reutilizar mascarillas N95, esenciales en la protección de profesionales de la salud en la atención durante procedimientos generadores de aerosoles y análisis de laboratorio de muestras respiratorias de pacientes infectados por COVID-19.
Objetivos: El objetivo de esta revisión fue conocer la efectividad de la desinfección con rayos Ultravioleta tipo C (UVC) de las mascarillas N°95 infectadas con SARS-CoV-2, considerando su capacidad germicida y sus efectos sobre el material, y dilucidar qué características debería tener un prototipo de máquina desinfectante mediante rayos UVC que permita la reutilización de las mascarillas.
Metodología: Se buscaron en Pub-Med las palabras claves y se revisaron aquellos artículos de los últimos 5 años. Se seleccionaron aquellos que abordaban la capacidad germicida de los rayos UVC, así como de la distancia, e intensidad de la radiación efectiva para lograr una desinfección, y de sus efectos sobre el material de las mascarillas N°95.
Desarrollo: Los rayos UVC tienen una capacidad germicida del 99,9% de los microorganismos, siendo lábil toda la familia de coronavirus. La efectividad de la desinfección varía dependiendo de la distancia de la fuente de luz y del tiempo de exposición a esta.
Conclusión: Un prototipo de máquina que emite luz UVC para la desinfección de mascarillas N°95 es una alternativa viable y segura para la reutilización de estas hasta 5 veces.
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