COMPARISON OF PORE SIZE ANALYSIS OF EXISTING AND EXPERIMENTAL SURGICAL GOWNS

… Majority of the public and private sector hospitals are using reusable gowns andscrubs whereas only a few hospitals are using disposable ones. Protection during surgery is veryimportant both for the patient as well as for the surgeon. The reasons are not only hygienic butalso creating a barrier so that the bacteria and the viruses do not transfer from patient to doctorand vice versa. The surgical gowns have been in use for many decades. With the advancementsin the field of manufacturing (weaving and finishing), the quality of gowns has been improvingover the period of time. In Pakistan, there is no awareness yet regarding the construction ofsurgical apparels viz. surgical gowns and scrubs so no standards are being followed as suchduring the manufacturing (weaving & finishing) of surgical apparels. For effective barrier functionof surgical gowns and scrubs, it is necessary for them to comply with certain standards in terms ofphysical characteristics viz. mass per unit area, number of threads per unit length, tensilestrength etc. The idea behind this study was to evaluate the physical characteristics of surgicalgowns and scrubs currently being used in different public sector hospitals of Lahore. Objectives:(1) To evaluate the pore size of existing and experimental surgical gowns being used in differenthospitals of Lahore. (2) To compare the pore size analysis of existing surgical gowns withexperimental surgical gowns. Study Design: Experimental study design was used. Duration:January 2014- April 2014. Materials and Methods: Samples of fabric used for making surgicalgowns and scrubs were collected from different hospitals of Lahore and evaluated for pore sizewith the help of optic microscope. For experimental gowns the fabric was developed according tothe international standards. Pore size of surgical gowns was measured with the help of scanningelectron microscope. Results: The results showed large pores in existing surgical gown. Nolength or width wise pores in the experimental surgical gowns fabric except there are tiny holes of0.5 after 20 launderings. The existing reusable surgical gowns did not offer any resistance againstbacterial penetration because of large pores. Conclusions: The fabric used for the existingsurgical gowns was not up to the mark and did show large pores under microscope. Theexperimental surgical gown showed no pores in the fabric structure when subjected to scanningelectron microscope. The functional ability of resistance against bacterial penetration of thesurgical gowns is important because the risk of SSI. If the patient develops SSI weather it isgrades 1, 2 or 3, the cost is significant. The cost effectiveness of the existing reusable surgicalgowns becomes insignificant as none of the existing surgical gowns offer any resistance againstbacterial penetration and the risk of SSI with subsequent treatment cost. Necessary guidelinescan be formulated and proposed to the concerned departments of various hospitals, in the lightof which they can design some specifications and select appropriate materials for surgicalapparels in future.

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SURGICAL APPARELS

The Professional Medical Journal ◽

10.29309/tpmj/2011.18.03.2321 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 18 (03) ◽

pp. 390-395

Author(s):

FARZANA KISHWAR ◽

FILZA ZAFAR KHAN ◽

SAMINA KALSOOM ◽

SHAHZAD ALAM ◽

Mohd. Tariq Sohail

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Study Design ◽

Unit Area ◽

Unit Length ◽

Physical Characteristics ◽

International Standards ◽

Public And Private ◽

Standard Atmosphere ◽

Public And Private Sector ◽

Surgical Gowns

Background: Around the world, majority of the public and private sector hospitals are using reusable gowns and scrubs whereas only a few hospitals are using disposable ones. Protection during surgery is very important both for the patient as well as for the surgeon. The reasons are not only hygienic but also creating a barrier so that the bacteria and the viruses do not transfer from patient to doctor and vice versa. The surgical gowns have been in use for many decades. With the advancements in the field of manufacturing (weaving and finishing), the quality of gowns has been improving over the period of time. In Pakistan, there is no awareness yet regarding the construction of surgical apparels viz. surgical gowns and scrubs so no standards are being followed as such during the manufacturing (weaving & finishing) of surgical apparels. For effective barrier function of surgical gowns and scrubs, it is necessary for them to comply with certain standards in terms of physical characteristics viz. mass per unit area, number of threads per unit length, tensile strength etc. The idea behind this study was to evaluate the physical characteristics of surgical gowns and scrubs currently being used in different public sector hospitals of Lahore. After which, necessary guidelines can be formulated and proposed to the concerned departments of various hospitals, in the light of which they can design some specifications and select appropriate materials for surgical apparels in future. Objectives: 1). To evaluate the physical characteristics of surgical apparels (gowns & scrubs) currently being used in different public sector hospitals of Lahore. 2). Comparison of results with existing/available performance requirements. Study design: Experimental study design. Period: April 2010-June 2010. Materials and Methods: Samples of fabric used for making surgical gowns and scrubs were collected from different hospitals of Lahore and evaluated for different fabric properties viz. mass per unit area, construction analysis (number of threads per unit length) and tensile properties in accordance with EN and ISO standards, in standard atmosphere for testing textiles. Results and Conclusions: The results obtained were compared with the available international standards and limited research studies done in the area of surgical apparels yet. It was found that none of the samples collected meet the minimal requirements available yet. So, there is a dire need of some minimal criteria of surgical apparels for the safety of the patients as well as of the health care personnel.

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The Synthesis and Electrochemical Performance of Si Composite with Hollow Carbon Microtubes by the Carbonization of Milkweed from Nature as Anode Template for Lithium Ion Batteries

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13195124 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (19) ◽

pp. 5124

Author(s):

Eun Hyuk Chung ◽

Jong Pil Kim ◽

Hyun Gyu Kim ◽

Jae-Min Chung ◽

Sei-Jin Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Electrical Conductivity ◽

Electrochemical Performance ◽

Pore Size ◽

Lithium Ion Batteries ◽

Polyvinylidene Fluoride ◽

Lithium Ion ◽

Size Analysis ◽

Pore Size Analysis ◽

Hollow Carbon

It has been reported that improving electrical conductivity and maintaining stable structure during discharge/charge process are challenge for Si to be used as an anode for lithium ion batteries (LIB). To address this problem, milkweed (MW) was carbonized to prepare hollow carbon microtubes (HCMT) derived from biomass as an anode template for LIB. In order to improve electrical conductivity, various materials such as chitosan (CTS), agarose, and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) are used as carbon source (C1, C2, and C3) by carbonization. Carbon coated HCMT@Si composits, HCMT@Si@C1, HCMT@Si@C1@C2, and HCMT@Si@C1@C3, have been successfully synthesized. Changes in structure and crystallinity of HCMT@Si composites were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Specific surface area for samples was calculated by using BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller). Also, pore size and particle size were obtained by particle and pore size analysis system. The surface morphology was evaluated using high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), Field Emission transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal properties of HCMT@Si composites were analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Our research was performed to study the synthesis and electrochemical performance of Si composite with HCMT by the carbonization of natural micro hollow milkweed to form an inner space. After carbonization at 900 °C for 2 h in N2 flow, inner diameter of HCMT obtained was about 10 μm. The electrochemical tests indicate that HCMT@Si@C1@C3 exhibits discharge capacity of 932.18 mAh/g at 0.5 A/g after 100 cycles.

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