Articles: personal-protective-equipment.
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Isr J Health Policy Res · Jul 2021
Emergency department impaired adherence to personal protective equipment donning and doffing protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious viral pandemic that has claimed the lives of millions. Personal protective equipment (PPE) may reduce the risk of transmission for health care workers (HCWs), especially in the emergency setting. This study aimed to compare the adherence to PPE donning and doffing protocols in the Emergency Department (ED) vs designated COVID-19 wards and score adherence according to the steps in our protocol. ⋯ As hypothesized, HCWs assigned to the designated ED wing made more protocol deviations compared with HCWs positive COVID-19 wards. Time management, acuity, lack of personnel, stress and known COVID-19 status may explain the lesser adherence to donning and doffing protocols. Further studies to assess the correlation between protocol deviations in use of PPE and morbidity as well as improvement implementations are required. Resources should be invested to ensure PPE is properly used.
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Notfall Rettungsmed · Jul 2021
[COVID-19: acceptance and compliance of PPE (personal protective equipment) and rules for hygiene and reducing contacts in German emergency medical services-a nationwide survey].
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has also significantly burdened and challenged the German emergency medical services (EMS). In this regard, the personal protective equipment (PPE) and rules like wear a mask, stay 6 feet away from others, avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, wash your hands often (called AHA‑L rules in Germany) play an important role in reducing the spread of COVID-19 infections. ⋯ We recommend targeted training regarding PPE in pandemics and the provision of appropriate premises for conflict-free compliance with AHA‑L rules.
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Observational Study
Smartphone based alerting of first responders during the corona virus disease-19 pandemic: An observational study.
Smartphone alerting systems (SAS) for first responders potentially shorten the resuscitation-free interval of patients with acute cardiac arrest. During the corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, many systems are suspended due to potential risks for the responders. Objective of the study was to establish a concept for SAS during the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate whether a SAS can safely be operated in pandemic conditions. ⋯ The willingness to respond to alarms was lower during the pandemic without PPE. It remained lower than before the pandemic when the volunteers had been equipped with PPE, but the alarm response rate remained at approximately 50% during the second wave of the pandemic. When volunteers are equipped with PPE, the operation of a SAS does not need to be paused, and the willingness to respond remains high among first responders.