This is a suction container used in patient rooms and intensive care rooms to remove secretions from patients to maintain an open airway. It is necessary. Intubated patients especially have higher amounts of secretions as a rule. They are usually better hydrated through IV infusion.
But, this product is interesting. (click here) It is added to the secretions and normal saline to solidify the liquid and make it less likely to spill if a container is mishandled or the integrity fails along the way. It is called Safe Sorb. I am wondering if there can be such a product that also has a disinfectant that will kill the virus on contact. In other words, reduce any possibility a health care worker could be exposed to contamination while handling the virus intensive fluids.
I am sure there are decontaminates used and one of the most popular ones is a bleach solution. Can something like Safe Sorb be also an agent for decontamination? Can a health care worker add something to a full container to not only contain the body fluids but kill the virus at the same time.
In the case of Ebola I have to wonder if there isn't something that can be adapted to be added from hour to hour or procedure to procedure that would better kill the virus in a rapid fashion so things like droplet and/or blood spots could be decontaminated quicker. Of course, the best possible decontamination is at the point where secretions meet a disposable suction catheter, but, that may be too dangerously close to the patients body tissues to be effective or safe. If the patients own body tissues are compromised there is a great chance of death than if the body's membranes are intact.
I think it is best to realize the procedures and equipment being utilized by health care workers were developed Pre-Ebola. We might not be able to do any better than that, but, I think we can. I think we can help reduce health care worker exposure if we realize how the equipment they are working with becomes contaminated and later decontaminated and disposed. I would hope infectious disease MDs would be accessed by medical and pharmaceutical companies to make this an ongoing consulting dynamic for national emergencies that could occur.
Infectious disease MDs are amazing. The CDC and FDA are magic if they are given the possibility of better opportunities to thwart disease.
