P0736 / #1895: EVALUATION OF SPLASHGUARDCG PREVENTION OF AEROSOLISED PARTICLE DISPERSION IN A PAEDIATRIC MODEL OF SPONTANEOUS AND NON-INVASIVE VENTILATION

AIMS & OBJECTIVES: The Splashguard (SG) is a plexiglass enclosure placed around the patient's head to limit the risk of transmission of COVID-19 during care. The SG was designed to prevent droplet transmission, but can concentrate aerosolized particles inside the SG. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of adding suction to prevent the risk of dispersal of aerosolized particles (AP) from critically ill patients on spontaneous ventilation (SV) and non-invasive ventilation (NIV). METHODS: The Topas Aerosol Generator (ATM-220) was connected to the airways of a high-fidelity manikin (SimBabyTM) with a breathing simulator (ASL 5000 tm), to generate a stable concentration of di-ethyl-hexyl-sebacat aerosol particles for 40 s within the SG. The NIV was applied using a Servo-I ventilator with a full-face mask (Figure). The temporal variation of the particle number density and size distribution was measured using a laser aerosol spectrometer (GRIMM 11-R) over the 0.5 μm to 1.0 mm range inside the SG, just above the manikin's head, with and without suction (92 L/min) inside the enclosure. RESULTS: While the aerosol generator is supplying aerosol to the Simbaby airways, the particle concentration increases steadily in the enclosure, with a larger peak in SV than in NIV. The PA peak was greater in SV than in NIV (1.4x106 vs 6.0x105, respectively). Aspiration decreased both the PA peak in SV and NIV, and the time to achieve a 50% reduction in AP concentration. CONCLUSIONS: The application of suction reduced the aerosol concentration inside the SG and may reduce the risk of airborne transmission when handling the SG.