scholarly journals Environmental contamination and personal protective equipment contamination with SARS-CoV-2 virus in a real-life clinical setting

2021 ◽  
pp. 175717742110333
Author(s):  
Avneet K Shahi ◽  
Nusreen Ahmed-Saeed ◽  
Isobel Taylor ◽  
Sharon Kiernan ◽  
Nitin Mahobia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Contamination ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Intensive Therapy ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Intensive Therapy Unit ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Equipment Contamination ◽  
Ongoing Concern

The importance of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via contact routes and its stability on surfaces is becoming increasingly recognised. There is ongoing concern that patients can become infected through person-to-person spread and environment-to-person spread. This study assessed whether SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA can be detected in the environment either on staff members’ personal protective equipment (PPE), on high-touch surfaces or around the bedspace of COVID-19–positive patients in a range of different ward settings to evaluate if there was any contamination of these. Results showed all PPE and high-touch surface swabs were negative. All swabs taken in the negative-pressure room where aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) were being undertaken detected viral RNA (5/5 positive), whereas there was minimal contamination in the intensive therapy unit (1/5 positive) and none detected in the cohort bay. These findings would be consistent with the understanding that areas where AGPs are regularly performed are at higher risk of environmental contamination.

scholarly journals Implementing a Massive Personal Protective Equipment Education—A Multidisciplinary Team Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s280-s281
Author(s):  
Mayar Al Mohajer ◽  
Megan Fischer ◽  
Melissa Rouse ◽  
Takei Pipkins ◽  
John Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Multidisciplinary Team ◽  
Infection Prevention ◽  
Just In Time ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Team Approach ◽  
Online Video ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Multidisciplinary Team Approach

Background: Personal protective equipment (PPE) is defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as specialized clothing or equipment worn by an employee for protection against infectious materials. They include gloves, gowns, masks, respirators, googles and face shields. The CDC has issued guidelines on appropriateness of when, what, and how to use PPE. Despite these guidelines, compliance with PPE remains challenging. Methods: We implemented a massive hospital-wide rapid education program on PPE donning and doffing of all employees and staff. This program included an online video, return demonstration and just-in-time training. To develop the program, we recorded PPE training video, reviewed PPE validation checklist, developed new isolation precaution signage with quick response (QR) code to video, developed a nutrition tray removal video and a equipment cleaning video, developed family and visitor guidelines for isolation precautions, and created an audit tool for PPE donning and doffing practices. The program required interdisciplinary collaboration including administration, infection prevention, nursing education, central supply, environmental services, facility maintenance, and security. Results: The first phase of the program was implemented through 30 separate 4-hour PPE skills fair offered over 48 hours. In total, 500 staff members were trained in the first 48 hours; 6 additional 3-hour sessions were provided on site in the following 3 month. Additionally, training was provided in off-site clinics, physician leadership meetings, new-hire orientation for nursing staff, and monthly resident and fellow training through graduate medical education. As needed, training was provided by infection prevention, nursing education, and floor nurses. In total, 5,237 staff members were trained within 3 months after implementation. Actual audit results (50 audits per week) showed improved and sustained compliance to >94%. Conclusions: A massive hospital-wide educational program including online video, return demonstration, and just-in-time training is a feasible and very effective method to improve compliance with PPE donning and doffing. A multidisciplinary team approach, administration support, and continuous education and audits are key factors in successful implementation.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

scholarly journals Preventing Viral Contamination: Effects of Wipe and Spray-based Decontamination of Gloves and Gowns

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. S228-S230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwen L Robinson ◽  
Stephanie Hitchcock ◽  
Zegbeh Kpadeh-Rogers ◽  
Nicole Karikari ◽  
J Kristie Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Contamination ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Laboratory Simulation ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Viral Contamination ◽  
Environmental Surfaces ◽  
Contamination Effects

Abstract We conducted a laboratory simulation to evaluate the contamination of environmental surfaces when using wipe vs spray methods of personal protective equipment (PPE) decontamination. We did not observe any environmental contamination with the bacteriophage MS-2 when bleach solution spray or wipes were used for PPE disinfection.

scholarly journals Contamination of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 autopsies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna M Brandner ◽  
Peter Boor ◽  
Lukas S Borcherding ◽  
Carolin Edler ◽  
Sven Gerber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Infectious Virus ◽  
Virus Isolation ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Safe Work ◽  
Hygiene Measures ◽  
Positive Controls

Confronted with an emerging infectious disease, the medical community faced relevant concerns regarding the performance of autopsies of COVID-19 deceased at the beginning of the pandemic. This attitude has changed, and autopsies are now recognized as indispensable tools for elucidating COVID-19; despite this, the true risk of infection for autopsy staff is still debated. To elucidate the rate of SARS-CoV-2 contamination in personal protective equipment (PPE), swabs were taken at nine locations of the PPE of one physician and an assistant each from 11 full autopsies performed at four different centers. Further samples were obtained for three minimally invasive autopsies (MIA) conducted at a fifth center. Lung/bronchus swabs of the deceased served as positive controls. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected by RT-qPCR. In 9/11 full autopsies PPE samples were tested RNA positive with PCR, in total 21% of all PPE samples taken. The main contaminated parts of the PPE were the gloves (64% positive), the aprons (50% positive), and the upper sides of shoes (36% positive) while for example the fronts of safety goggles were only positive in 4.5% of the samples and all face masks were negative. In MIA, viral RNA was observed in one sample from a glove, but not in other swabs. Infectious virus isolation in cell culture was performed in RNA positive swabs from full autopsies. Of all RNA positive PPE samples, 21% of the glove samples were positive for infectious virus taken in 3/11 full autopsies. In conclusion, in >80% of autopsies, PPE was contaminated with viral RNA. In >25% of autopsies, PPE was found to be even contaminated with infectious virus, signifying a potential risk of infection among autopsy staff. Adequate PPE and hygiene measures, including appropriate waste deposition, are therefore mandatory to enable safe work environment.

scholarly journals Contamination of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 autopsies

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna M. Brandner ◽  
Peter Boor ◽  
Lukas Borcherding ◽  
Carolin Edler ◽  
Sven Gerber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Infectious Virus ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Safe Work ◽  
Hygiene Measures ◽  
The Face ◽  
Positive Controls

AbstractConfronted with an emerging infectious disease at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical community faced concerns regarding the safety of autopsies on those who died of the disease. This attitude has changed, and autopsies are now recognized as indispensable tools for understanding COVID-19, but the true risk of infection to autopsy staff is nevertheless still debated. To clarify the rate of SARS-CoV-2 contamination in personal protective equipment (PPE), swabs were taken at nine points in the PPE of one physician and one assistant after each of 11 full autopsies performed at four centers. Swabs were also obtained from three minimally invasive autopsies (MIAs) conducted at a fifth center. Lung/bronchus swabs of the deceased served as positive controls, and SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR. In 9 of 11 full autopsies, PPE samples tested RNA positive through PCR, accounting for 41 of the 198 PPE samples taken (21%). The main contaminated items of the PPE were gloves (64% positive), aprons (50% positive), and the tops of shoes (36% positive) while the fronts of safety goggles, for example, were positive in only 4.5% of the samples, and all the face masks were negative. In MIAs, viral RNA was observed in one sample from a glove but not in other swabs. Infectious virus isolation in cell culture was performed on RNA-positive swabs from the full autopsies. Of all the RNA-positive PPE samples, 21% of the glove samples, taken in 3 of 11 full autopsies, tested positive for infectious virus. In conclusion, PPE was contaminated with viral RNA in 82% of autopsies. In 27% of autopsies, PPE was found to be contaminated even with infectious virus, representing a potential risk of infection to autopsy staff. Adequate PPE and hygiene measures, including appropriate waste deposition, are therefore essential to ensure a safe work environment.

scholarly journals COVID-19: A systematic evaluation of personal protective equipment (PPE) performance during restraint

2021 ◽  
pp. 002580242110008
Author(s):  
Roland Dix ◽  
David Straiton ◽  
Peter Metherall ◽  
James Laidlaw ◽  
Lisa McLean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Inpatient Mental Health ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
New Procedures

Background Restraint is widely practised within inpatient mental health services and is considered a higher-risk procedure for patients and staff. There is a sparsity of evidence in respect of the efficacy of personal protective equipment (PPE) used during restraint for reducing risk of infection. Methods A series of choreographed restraint episodes were used to simulate contact contamination in research participants playing the roles of staff members and a patient. For comparison, one episode of simulated recording of physical observations was taken. Ultraviolet (UV) fluorescent material was used to track the simulated contact contamination, with analysis undertaken using established image registration techniques of UV photographs. This was repeated for three separate sets of PPE. Results All three PPE sets showed similar performance in protecting against contamination transfer. For teams not utilising coveralls, this was dependent upon effective cleansing as part of doffing. There were similar patterns of contamination for restraint team members assigned to specific roles, with hands and upper torso appearing to be higher-risk areas. The restraint-related contamination was 23 times higher than that observed for physical observations. Discussion A second layer of clothing that can be removed showed efficacy in reducing contact contamination. PPE fit to individual is important. Post-restraint cleansing procedures are currently inadequate, with new procedures for face and neck cleansing required. These findings leave scope for staff to potentially improve their appearance when donning PPE and engaging with distressed patients.

scholarly journals Personal protective equipment in the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of cooling-wear as alleviator of thermal stress

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Luze ◽  
Sebastian P. Nischwitz ◽  
Petra Kotzbeck ◽  
Julia Fink ◽  
Judith C. J. Holzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Physiological Parameters ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Staff Members

Summary Background High temperatures at workplaces lead to health-related risks and premature exhaustion. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires many health professionals to perform under unfavorable conditions. Personal protective equipment (PPE) causes thermal stress and negatively affects performance. Patients, materials and methods This pilot project investigated the effects of PPE and additional cooling wear on physiological parameters and concentration of six healthy staff members of the Plastic Surgery Department of the Medical University of Graz, Austria during simulated patient care. In this study two 1‑hour cycles with patient care-related tasks with PPE and PPE + cooling-wear, respectively, were conducted. A third cycle with scrubs exclusively served as baseline/negative control. The assessment occurred immediately pre-cycles and post-cycles. Results Pre-cycle assessments showed no significant differences between the cycles. After PPE cycle, increased physical stress levels and decrements in concentration capacity were observed. Physiological parameters were significantly less affected in the cooling cycle, while concentration capacity slightly increased. Conclusion COVID-19 PPE causes considerable thermal stress, ultimately affecting human performance. As opportunity to withstand thermal stress, and improve patients’ and professionals’ safety, cooling-wear can be considered relevant. Medical personnel performing in exceptional situations may particularly benefit from further development and investigation of cooling strategies.

scholarly journals From natural disaster to pandemic: A health-system pharmacy rises to the challenge

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (23) ◽  
pp. 1986-1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Autumn D Zuckerman ◽  
Pratish C Patel ◽  
Mark Sullivan ◽  
Amy Potts ◽  
Molly Knostman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Quality Patient Care ◽  
Pharmacy Department ◽  
Virus Exposure

Abstract Purpose This report describes a health-system pharmacy’s response to a natural disaster while staff members simultaneously prepared for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. By detailing our experience, we hope to help other institutions that are current facing or could encounter similar crises. Summary In early March 2020, a tornado destroyed the health system’s warehouse for storage of most clinical supplies, including personal protective equipment and fluids. The pharmacy purchasing team collaborated with suppliers and manufacturers to recover losses and establish alternative storage areas. Days later, the pharmacy department was forced to address the impending COVID-19 pandemic. Key elements of the COVID-19 response included reducing the potential for virus exposure for patients and staff; overcoming challenges in sourcing of staff, personal protective equipment, and medications; and changing care delivery practices to maintain high-quality patient care while maximizing social distancing. The pharmacy department also created distance learning opportunities for 70 pharmacy students on rotations. After an initial plan, ongoing needs include adjustment in patient care activities if significant staff losses occur, when and how to resume clinical activities, and how to best utilize the resources accumulated. Elements of practice changes implemented to reduce COVID-19 threats to patients and pharmacy personnel have proven beneficial and will be further evaluated for potential continuation. Conclusion The pharmacy department’s efforts to respond to a natural disaster and unprecedented pandemic have proven successful to this point and have illuminated several lessons, including the necessity of cohesive department communication, staff flexibility, prioritization of teamwork, and external collaboration.

scholarly journals Ventilation mask adapted for endoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (suppl 2) ◽  
pp. 55-57
Author(s):  
José Luiz Paccos ◽  
Ivandro Paulo de Lima ◽  
Viviane Rissio Borba de Lima ◽  
Natália Sayuri Mukai
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Environmental Contamination ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Poor Control ◽  
Contamination Control ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Risk Of Disease

SUMMARY In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, endoscopy services must adopt preventive measures to maintain proper functioning due to a high risk of disease contagion. Triage protocols before and after the procedure, personal protective equipment, and environmental contamination control are some of the endoscopy society’s recommendations. However, the risk of infection may remain high due to poor control over the source of contamination.Using a combination of standardized supplies and accessories in a hospital, a ventilation mask adapted to be used in endoscopic procedures is proposed to reduce COVID-19 contamination.

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