Virginia Research Day 2021

Medical Student Research Cl inical

14 Changes in Use of Quaternary Ammonium Compound (QAC) Disinfectants in Dental Clinics Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Brooke D Burwell, Alekhya Peruri, Richard Antoun, Caroline G Horne, Rachel A Hall, Tyler Steve, Chang Xu, Theresa J McCann, Terry C Hrubec Corresponding author: aperuri@vt.vcom.edu

Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Virginia Campus

Dental Healthcare Professionals are continuously in contact with disinfecting chemicals throughout their work day. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in use of disinfecting products must be examined. SAR-CoV-2 can linger on surfaces for up to three days, making consistent disinfection of communal surfaces vital. Of the 516 disinfecting products listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that are effective against SARS- CoV-2, 241 contain a Quaternary Ammonium Compound (QAC) as an active ingredient. Since their discovery in 1915, QACs have been used in a variety of products including detergents, emulsifying agents, deodorizers, hair products, and surface disinfectants. Though long believed to be harmless, QAC exposure has been linked to asthma and contact dermatitis in humans, and developmental, reproductive and immune toxicity in animals. Recent studies have

shown that 80% of the population contains QAC residues in their blood, and these are correlated in a dose dependent manner with markers of inflammation and inhibition of mitochondrial function. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, indoor exposure to QACs has increased. Given the increased use of disinfectants in healthcare facilities, it is likely that workers have been increasingly exposed to these potentially harmful disinfectant products. This study aims to assess the changes in disinfection products and procedures in dental healthcare settings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dental offices are unique in that patients must remove their masks to be treated, which puts individuals at a higher risk of transmission of the virus. Dental offices will be contacted and surveyed about changes in disinfectant product use within different areas of their practice including the waiting area and patient rooms. This

will be conducted on a national basis with the aim of contacting 500 different offices. Descriptive statistics with means and proportions will be used to describe the data. Normality and distribution of data will be assessed. Paired t-tests or non-parametric equivalents will be used to compare changes in disinfection practices. All analyses will be 2-tailed with statistical significance set at p<.05, and 95% confidence intervals will be provided for outcomes. We hypothesize that the use of disinfectants that contain QACs has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This research was funded in part by VCOM.

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