Annals of work exposures and health
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Ann Work Expo Health · Jan 2021
Availability of Personal Protective Equipment in NHS Hospitals During COVID-19: A National Survey.
The continuous supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the National Health Service (NHS) is paramount to reduce transmission of COVID-19 to patients, public, and staff. ⋯ Our survey demonstrated an overall lack of PPE volume supply in the UK hospitals during March 2020, demonstrating a lack of preparedness for a pandemic. PPE was more readily available in London which was the epicentre of the outbreak. Eye and full body protection are in most lack of supply.
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Ann Work Expo Health · Jul 2020
COVID-19 outbreak in Italy: protecting worker health and the response of the Italian Industrial Hygienists Association.
The number of people infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), i.e. the virus causing coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is dramatically increasing worldwide to the size of a pandemic. At the time of writing Italy is ranking first among countries both in terms of number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and in terms of number of deaths. Such a wide spread of COVID-19 has led to concern among workers who are facing the risk of becoming infected during the execution of their duties. ⋯ For this reason, the Italian Association of Industrial Hygienists (AIDII-Associazione Italiana degli Igienisti Industriali) published documents containing operational guidelines to provide correct and constantly updated information for: (i) workers employed in essential activities (with low and medium risk of contagion), (ii) health workers and other workers at high or very high risk of contagion, and (iii) for the correct use and handling of personal protective equipment for workers and for the population in general. It is worth pointing out that the documents produced are not intended to replace those produced by authoritative bodies, but to comply with and complete them by reporting an effective summary and further indications about the measures that should be taken in practice under the light of the Italian legislation. At present, the challenge is to produce scientifically sound knowledge, appropriate tools, and effective methodologies, by coordinating the initiatives of different scientific associations, with the final aim to effectively transfer them to employers and workers.
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Ann Work Expo Health · Apr 2020
Selection and Use of Respiratory Protection by Healthcare Workers to Protect from Infectious Diseases in Hospital Settings.
Infection control policies and guidelines recommend using facemasks and respirators to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from respiratory infections. Common types of respirators used in healthcare settings are filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). Aims of this study were to examine the current attitudes and practices of HCWs regarding the selection and use of respiratory protection and determine the acceptability of a novel PAPR. ⋯ HCWs should be aware of infection control policies and training should be provided on the correct use of respiratory protective devices. PAPRs can be used in hospital settings to protect HCWs from certain highly infectious and emerging pathogens, however, HCWs require adequate training on storage, use, and cleaning of PAPRs.
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Ann Work Expo Health · Oct 2019
The Effect on Fit of Multiple Consecutive Donning and Doffing of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators.
N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) are widely used in healthcare to reduce transmission of airborne infectious diseases. These respirators are generally described as single use or limited reuse devices, but cost and operational issues mean that they may be donned and doffed multiple times. There is scant research on the effect of this practice on adequacy of fit. ⋯ Forty-eight percent of study subjects failed at least one fit test after re-donning an N95 FFR. The fit test data suggest that donning practices probably accounted for the fit test failures. The 50% of subjects who produced overall fit factors ≥100 after a test of <100 supports this contention.
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Ann Work Expo Health · Aug 2019
Environmental and Personal Protective Equipment Contamination during Simulated Healthcare Activities.
Providing care to patients with an infectious disease can result in the exposure of healthcare workers (HCWs) to pathogen-containing bodily fluids. We performed a series of experiments to characterize the magnitude of environmental contamination-in air, on surfaces and on participants-associated with seven common healthcare activities. The seven activities studied were bathing, central venous access, intravenous access, intubation, physical examination, suctioning and vital signs assessment. ⋯ Glove and gown contamination were ubiquitous, affirming the value of wearing these pieces of PPE to protect HCW's clothing and skin. Though intubation and suctioning are considered aerosol-generating procedures, fluorescein was detected less frequently in air and at lower levels on face shields and facemasks than other activities, which suggests that the definition of aerosol-generating procedure may need to be revised. Face shields may protect the face and facemask from splashes and sprays of bodily fluids and should be used for more healthcare activities.