Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36168219›Full record

ArticleIndoor air2022

HEPA filters of portable air cleaners as a tool for the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.

Isabel G Fernández de Mera, Carmen Granda, Florentina Villanueva, Marta Sánchez-Sánchez, Alberto Moraga-Fernández, Christian Gortázar, José de la Fuente

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Indoor air, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on air purifier filters in university spaces without symptomatic or confirmed cases.Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Isabel G Fernández de MeraSaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, Ciudad Real, Spain.
Carmen GrandaResidencias CADIG Guadiana I y II, Centro de Salud Ciudad Real I, Spain.
Florentina VillanuevaInstituto de Investigación en Combustión y Contaminación Atmosférica, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-1016-1823
Marta Sánchez-SánchezSaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, Ciudad Real, Spain.
Alberto Moraga-FernándezSaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, Ciudad Real, Spain.
Christian GortázarSaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, Ciudad Real, Spain.
José de la FuenteSaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, Ciudad Real, Spain.
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos · ESHospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real · ESOklahoma State University · USUniversity of Castilla-La Mancha · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Studies about the identification of SARS-CoV-2 in indoor aerosols have been conducted in hospital patient rooms and to a lesser extent in nonhealthcare environments. In these studies, people were already infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, in the present study, we investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in HEPA filters housed in portable air cleaners (PACs) located in places with apparently healthy people to prevent possible outbreaks. A method for detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in HEPA filters was developed and validated. The study was conducted for 13 weeks in three indoor environments: school, nursery, and a household of a social health center, all in Ciudad Real, Spain. The environmental monitoring of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 was conducted in HEPA filters and other surfaces of these indoor spaces for a selective screening in asymptomatic population groups. The objective was to limit outbreaks at an early stage. One HEPA filter tested positive in the social health center. After analysis by RT-PCR of SARS-CoV-2 in residents and healthcare workers, one worker tested positive. Therefore, this study provides direct evidence of virus-containing aerosols trapped in HEPA filters and the possibility of using these PACs for environmental monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 while they remove airborne aerosols and trap the virus.

Indexed as

Air FiltersAir Pollution, IndoorCOVID-19HumansRespiratory Aerosols and DropletsRNA, ViralSARS-CoV-2RNA, ViralaerosolsHEPA filterindoor airportable air cleanersSARS-CoV-2surveillance

Identifiers

PMID36168219
PMCPMC9538271
OpenAlexW4296446279

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.