Decontamination Strategies for Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs) in Healthcare Organizations: A Comprehensive Review.

Filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) are made for one-time use. A massive shortage of FFRs is widespread during pandemic events and has forced many healthcare organizations to decontaminate them and re-use for a limited time. Many decontamination methods have been proposed for the decontamination of FFRs. This review highlights various aspects of decontamination methods available in the literature. Among various methods available, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet irradiation, and dry heat seem to be the most promising decontaminants for FFRs. On the other hand, microwave, bleach, ethylene oxide, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide liquid, sanitizing wipes, and soap and water are not recommended methods for FFR decontamination.