OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the safety of room occupants in the Tuberculosis Ultraviolet Shelter Study (TUSS), a double-blind, placebo-controlled field trial of upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) at 14 homeless shelters in six U.S. cities from 1997 to 2004. METHODS: Data collection involved administering questionnaires regarding eye and skin irritation to a total of 3,611 staff and homeless study subjects. RESULTS: Among these subjects, there were 223 reports of eye or skin symptoms. During the active UV period, 95 questionnaires (6%) noted such symptoms, and during the placebo period, 92 questionnaires (6%) did so. In the 36 remaining cases, either the UV period when symptoms took place was unknown or the symptoms spanned both periods. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of reports of symptoms between the active and placebo periods. One definite instance of UV-related keratoconjunctivitis occurred, resulting from a placement of a bunk bed in a dormitory where a single bed had been used when the UV fixtures were first installed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that careful application of upper-room UVGI can be achieved without an apparent increase in the incidence of the most common side effects of accidental UV overexposure.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the safety of room occupants in the Tuberculosis Ultraviolet Shelter Study (TUSS), a double-blind, placebo-controlled field trial of upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) at 14 homeless shelters in six U.S. cities from 1997 to 2004. METHODS: Data collection involved administering questionnaires regarding eye and skin irritation to a total of 3,611 staff and homeless study subjects. RESULTS: Among these subjects, there were 223 reports of eye or skin symptoms. During the active UV period, 95 questionnaires (6%) noted such symptoms, and during the placebo period, 92 questionnaires (6%) did so. In the 36 remaining cases, either the UV period when symptoms took place was unknown or the symptoms spanned both periods. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of reports of symptoms between the active and placebo periods. One definite instance of UV-related keratoconjunctivitis occurred, resulting from a placement of a bunk bed in a dormitory where a single bed had been used when the UV fixtures were first installed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that careful application of upper-room UVGI can be achieved without an apparent increase in the incidence of the most common side effects of accidental UV overexposure.
Authors: Palwasha Y Khan; Tom A Yates; Muhammad Osman; Robin M Warren; Yuri van der Heijden; Nesri Padayatchi; Edward A Nardell; David Moore; Barun Mathema; Neel Gandhi; Vegard Eldholm; Keertan Dheda; Anneke C Hesseling; Valerie Mizrahi; Roxana Rustomjee; Alexander Pym Journal: Lancet Infect Dis Date: 2018-12-13 Impact factor: 25.071
Authors: Manuela Buonanno; Brian Ponnaiya; David Welch; Milda Stanislauskas; Gerhard Randers-Pehrson; Lubomir Smilenov; Franklin D Lowy; David M Owens; David J Brenner Journal: Radiat Res Date: 2017-02-22 Impact factor: 2.841
Authors: A Roderick Escombe; David A J Moore; Robert H Gilman; Marcos Navincopa; Eduardo Ticona; Bailey Mitchell; Catherine Noakes; Carlos Martínez; Patricia Sheen; Rocio Ramirez; Willi Quino; Armando Gonzalez; Jon S Friedland; Carlton A Evans Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2009-03-17 Impact factor: 11.069