Thinking outside the box in COVID-19 era-Application of modified aerosol box in dermatology

摘要

Dear Editor, The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since its origin in Wuhan, China in late December 2019 has rapidly spread to infect a large proportion of the world population, over a span of few months. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on 12 March 2020. The primary mode of spread of infection is through aerosols, where the virus is dispersed in respiratory droplets while the patient coughs or sneezes. This can infect another person directly, through inhalation of infected droplets, or indirectly, on coming in contact with infected fomites. Therefore, to break the chain of transmission, social distancing, regular hand washing, and avoidance of touching the face are advocated on a general basis. In addition, health care workers, who have a high chance of acquiring the infection from infected patients, are advised to follow extra precautions like donning personal protective equipment (PPE). However, with the rapid spread of infection, there is a gross shortage of PPE throughout the world. Also, in a nonemergency setting like a Dermatology out-patient department, the use of PPE at all times may not always be feasible. This necessitates the need for innovating new techniques to minimize spread of the infection from patients to doctors and vice versa.