Articles: personal-protective-equipment.
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As coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continue to increase in Africa, healthcare workers (HCWs) have a high risk of being infected and the risks may be higher among those who work closely with patients. The risks of HCW infections can be mitigated with adequate precautions within healthcare facilities, especially with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). We highlight and contextualise the findings of a Cochrane review on the type of PPE that protects best, the best way to put PPE on (donning) or to remove PPE (doffing) and how to train HCWs to use PPE. ⋯ Of the 24 studies included in this review, none was conducted on the African continent. There is thus an urgent need for well conducted studies on the experiences of HCWs using full-body covering PPE within the African context. Such studies could lead to tailored interventions that will improve the proper use of PPE among HCWs.
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The worldwide shortage of single-use N95 respirators and surgical masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many health care personnel to use their existing equipment for as long as possible. In many cases, workers cover respirators with available masks in an attempt to extend their effectiveness against the virus. Due to low mask supplies, many people instead are using face coverings improvised from common fabrics. ⋯ We show that silk is a hydrophobic barrier to droplets, can be more breathable than other fabrics that trap humidity, and are re-useable via cleaning. We suggest that silk can serve as an effective material for making hydrophobic barriers that protect respirators, and silk can now be tested under clinical conditions to verify its efficacy for this function. Although respirators are still the most appropriate form of protection, silk face coverings possess properties that make them capable of repelling droplets.
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GMS Hyg Infect Control · Jan 2020
Can surgery follow the dictates of the pandemic "keep your distance"? Requirements with COVID-19 for hygiene, resources and the team.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been restrictions in the daily care of surgical patients - both elective and emergency. Readying supply capacities and establishing isolation areas and areas for suspected cases in the clinics have led to keeping beds free for treating (suspected) COVID-19 cases. It was therefore necessary to temporarily postpone elective surgery. ⋯ Although dealing with surgical smoke in the operating theater has long been criticized, COVID-19 is forcing a renaissance in this area. Finally, the choice of surgical method, whether open surgery or minimally invasive procedures, is critical in determining how many colleagues are exposed to the risk of infection from COVID-19 patients, sometimes for hours. Here, robot-assisted surgery can comply with the pandemic's requirement to "keep your distance" in a unique way, since the surgeon can operate at virtually any distance from the surgical site, at least with regard to aerosol formation and exposure.
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The global coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic has led to an international shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), with traditional supply chains unable to cope with the significant demand leading to critical shortfalls. A number of open and crowdsourcing initiatives have sought to address this shortfall by producing equipment such as protective face shields using additive manufacturing techniques such as fused filament fabrication (FFF). ⋯ LSAM offers significant advantages over other additive manufacturing technologies in bridge manufacturing scenarios as a true transition between prototypes and mass production techniques such as injection molding. In the context of production of COVID-19 face shields, the ability to produce the optimized components in under 5 min compared to what would typically take 1 - 2 h using another additive manufacturing technologies meant that significant production volume could be achieved rapidly with minimal staffing.
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J Prim Care Community Health · Jan 2020
Practice GuidelineGuidelines for Frontline Health Care Staff Safety for COVID-19.
This document establishes safety guidelines for physicians, nurses, and allied health care and facility staff who may be exposed to patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a health care facility. SARS-CoV-2 infection is highly contagious and places health care workers at risk for infection resulting in coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Physicians, nurses, and allied health care and facility staff in all frontline environments must be provided and utilize necessary personal protective equipment (PPE). ⋯ The establishment of these guidelines is necessary in this viral pandemic since such directives can create a standard of safety that is universally accepted. These guidelines establish a framework to provide consistency among health care facilities and staff from the time the staff member arrives at the health care facility until they return home. These guidelines provide a practical description of the minimum necessary protection for physicians, nurses, and allied health care and facility staff against SARS-CoV-2 infection.