Health care personnel who care for critically ill patients with suspected or confirmed novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) routinely participate in procedures, such as endotracheal intubation, that may create infectious aerosols. Among persons infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, approximately 8% will require endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation.
Aerosol-generating procedures have been described as “procedures performed on patients that are more likely to generate higher concentrations of infectious respiratory aerosols than coughing, sneezing, talking, or breathing.” Health Protection Scotland defines aerosol-generating procedures “as medical and patient care procedures that result in the production of airborne particles (aerosols) that create the potential for airborne transmission of infections…
