GAS COMPOSITION OF ALVEOLAR AIR AND TOLERABILITY OF PERSONAL RESPIRATORY PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

Introduction. When using personal protective equipment for respiratory organs of an insulating type in case of depletion of a regenerative cartridge, hypoxic-hypercapnic changes in the gas composition of the body occur, which have a negative effect on the tolerance of personal protective equipment for respiratory organs. The combination of additional respiratory resistance with hypoxia and hypercapnia further worsens the tolerance of respiratory protective equipment. The purpose of this study was to study the tolerance of personal respiratory protection when changing the gas composition of the alveolar air. Material and methods. The study was conducted on healthy subjects of both sexes (78 people), aged 20 to 36 years. To simulate the conditions for the use of personal respiratory protective equipment, inspiratory resistive respiratory loads of 20% of the maximum intraoral pressure were used during the Mueller test. The tolerance of respiratory protective equipment was evaluated using the Borg visual analog scale of dyspnea, which reflected the level of subjective discomfort occurring due to additional respiratory resistance is turned on. The methodology for changing the gas composition of the alveolar air in the subjects consisted of using a system that allowed adding oxygen from the line to the closed spirograph circuit and turning the carbon dioxide adsorber on and off. Results. The tolerance of personal respiratory protection is associated with the nature of the gas composition of the alveolar air. A minimum of subjective discomfort was observed in the presence of hyperoxic-hypocapnic composition of the pulmonary air; on the contrary, an increase in subjective discomfort on the Borg scale was observed with a reduced oxygen content and an increased concentration of carbon dioxide. The use of personal respiratory protective equipment against the background of hypoxia-hypercapnia negatively changes the functional state of the body: there was observed an increase in physiological expenditures by leading effectors. Normalization of the gas composition of the body under the use of personal respiratory protection did not lead to complete optimization of the functional state of the subjects. Conclusion. Hypoxia and hypercapnia arising from the depletion of regenerative cartridges of the respiratory protective equipment of an insulating type leads to a significant deterioration in the tolerance to additional respiratory resistance. The alleged mechanism of this phenomenon should be considered as an increase in fatigue of the respiratory muscles.

Download Full-text

ROLE OF RESPIRATORY RATE IN THE TOLERABILITY OF PERSONAL RESPIRATORY PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

Токсикологический вестник ◽

10.36946/0869-7922-2020-6-43-48 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 43-48

Author(s):

Yu. Yu. Byalovsky ◽

I. S. Rakitina

Keyword(s):

Functional State ◽

Respiratory Muscles ◽

Respiratory Protection ◽

Respiratory Resistance ◽

Carbon Dioxide Absorption ◽

Significant Deterioration ◽

Subjective Indicators ◽

Initial Frequency ◽

Subjective Discomfort ◽

Respiratory Movements

The factor limiting the tolerance of personal respiratory protection equipment should be considered the frequency of respiratory movements, which reflexively changes when additional respiratory resistance occurs. Unfortunately, there is almost no information in the available literature about changes in the tolerability of personal respiratory protection equipment at different rates of respiratory movements. The purpose of this work was to study the tolerability of personal respiratory protection equipment when changing the frequency of respiratory movements.The study was conducted on practically healthy persons of both sexes (78 people), aged from 20 to 36 years. To simulate the conditions for the use of personal respiratory protection equipment, inspiratory resistive respiratory loads of 20% of the maximum intraoral pressure during the Mueller test were used. The tolerance of personal respiratory protection equipment was assessed using the Borg visual analogue of dyspnea scale, which reflected the level of subjective discomfort that occurs when additional respiratory resistance is turned on. During the action of additional respiratory resistance, the persons were asked to hold the frequency of respiratory movements, which was set using a special setting.An increase in the rate of respiratory movements against the background of additional respiratory resistance leads to a significant deterioration in the objective and subjective indicators of the functional state of the persons; replacing the inhaled air with an oxygen-rich respiratory mixture with carbon dioxide absorption did not lead to a significant improvement in the functional state. A moderate decrease (up to 70% of the initial frequency of respiratory movements) in the rate of respiration leads to an improvement in the indicators of adaptive activity in conditions of additional respiratory resistance. A significant decrease (up to 35% of the initial frequency of respiratory movements) in the rate of respiration under conditions of additional respiratory resistance leads to a deterioration of objective and subjective indicators of the functional state of the subjects.An increase in peak respiratory flow rates caused by an increase in the rate of respiration, in accordance with the well – known Rohrer equation, significantly increases inelastic resistance and, as a result, respiratory needs. These needs can be met at some time due to a significant increase in the work of the respiratory muscles, but due to fatigue of the latter, psychoemotional tension increases quite quickly and the use of personal respiratory protection equipment is abandoned.

Download Full-text

Assessing functional state of the body when wearing a reusable protective suit to minimize risks of contagion among medical personnel

Health Risk Analysis ◽

10.21668/health.risk/2021.4.17 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 152-161

Author(s):

A.B. Yudin ◽

◽

M.V. Kaltygin ◽

E.A. Konovalov ◽

A.A. Vlasov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional State ◽

Health Risks ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Thermal State ◽

Medical Personnel ◽

The Body ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Cardiorespiratory System ◽

Psychophysiological State

Personal protective equipment has become the last line of protection for medical personnel during the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection since it allows minimizing risks of biological contagion. Given the existing staffing shortage, medical workers have to spend from 4 to 12 hours a day in the “red zone” where they necessarily wear personal protective equipment. Protective clothing is known to produce negative effects on functional state of the body and personnel’s working capacities. Assessment of up-to-date protective suits will allow developing recommendations on their suitable application bearing in mind a balance between necessary protection, providing favorable ergonomics, and reducing risks of adverse effects on functional state and working capacities. Our research aim was to hygienically assess health risks for medical workers who had to wear reusable protective suits. Our research object was a reusable suit made from polyether fabric with polyurethane membrane coating and antistatic threads. We performed an experiment aimed at evaluating thermal state of the body, psychophysiological state, and responses by the volunteers’ cardiorespiratory system in laboratory conditions during an 80 hour working shift under controlled microclimate. Participants in the experiment were questioned in order to assess suits’ ergonomics. Heat exchange dynamics and amount of changes in thermal physiological parameters caused by wearing a protective suit determined heat contents of volunteers’ bodies that conformed to optimal standard values. Data on psychophysiological and mental state taken in research dynamics didn’t have any statistically significant changes. Gas exchange indicators naturally grew during the “load” phase; however, there were no significant changes detected in any phase in the research. Hygienic assessment of the thermal state, functional state of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and psychophysio-logical indicators confirmed that wearing a protective suit was quite safe and didn’t involve any health risks for volunteers.

Download Full-text

Respiratory protection ‒ new challenges

Bulletin of the Military University of Technology ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0015.6963 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 70 (1) ◽

pp. 129-153

Author(s):

Władysław Harmata ◽

Dorota Kamionek

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Virus Transmission ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Respiratory Protection ◽

Protection Measures ◽

Normative Requirements ◽

New Challenges

The paper characterizes the problem of air pollution with smog. The possibility of SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission on particulate matter and the possibility of infection was analyzed. Individual respiratory protection measures available on the market were analyzed in terms of mass use, taking into account legal and normative requirements. Keywords: personal protective equipment, respiratory protection

Download Full-text

Respiratory viruses on personal protective equipment and bodies of healthcare workers

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1017/ice.2019.298 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (12) ◽

pp. 1356-1360 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Linh T. Phan ◽

Dagmar Sweeney ◽

Dayana Maita ◽

Donna C. Moritz ◽

Susan C. Bleasdale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Face Mask ◽

Respiratory Viruses ◽

The Body ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Bare Hand ◽

Polymerase Chain

AbstractObjective:To characterize the magnitude of virus contamination on personal protective equipment (PPE), skin, and clothing of healthcare workers (HCWs) who cared for patients having acute viral infections.Design:Prospective observational study.Setting:Acute-care academic hospital.Participants:A total of 59 HCWs agreed to have their PPE, clothing, and/or skin swabbed for virus measurement.Methods:The PPE worn by HCW participants, including glove, face mask, gown, and personal stethoscope, were swabbed with Copan swabs. After PPE doffing, bodies and clothing of HCWs were sampled with Copan swabs: hand, face, and scrubs. Preamplification and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods were used to quantify viral RNA copies in the swab samples.Results:Overall, 31% of glove samples, 21% of gown samples, and 12% of face mask samples were positive for virus. Among the body and clothing sites, 21% of bare hand samples, 11% of scrub samples, and 7% of face samples were positive for virus. Virus concentrations on PPE were not statistically significantly different than concentrations on skin and clothing under PPE. Virus concentrations on the personal stethoscopes and on the gowns were positively correlated with the number of torso contacts (P < .05). Virus concentrations on face masks were positively correlated with the number of face mask contacts and patient contacts (P < .05).Conclusions:Healthcare workers are routinely contaminated with respiratory viruses after patient care, indicating the need to ensure that HCWs complete hand hygiene and use other PPE to prevent dissemination of virus to other areas of the hospital. Modifying self-contact behaviors may decrease the presence of virus on HCWs.

Download Full-text

PULMONARY GAS EXCHANGE AND ACID-BASE STATUS OF BLOOD UNDER THE USE OF MEANS FOR INDIVIDUAL PROTECTION OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS

Hygiene and Sanitation ◽

10.18821/0016-9900-2018-97-5-445-448 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 97 (5) ◽

pp. 445-448

Author(s):

Yury Yu. Byalovsky ◽

S. V. Bulatetsky ◽

V. A. Kiryushin ◽

N. I. Prokhorov ◽

V. N. Abrosimov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gas Exchange ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Pulmonary Gas Exchange ◽

Respiratory Pattern ◽

Preliminary Training ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Respiratory Resistance ◽

Acid Base ◽

Inspiratory Resistance ◽

Additional Resistance

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the duration of training on the use of personal respiratory protective equipment on indices of pulmonary gas exchange. Simulation of conditions for the use of personal respiratory protective equipment was carried out at the inspiratory resistance of 40, 60, 70 and 80% Pmmax. The study included 38 healthy male subjects aged 20 to 36 years. According to the results of the study, under the use of personal protective equipment for the respiratory system, preliminary training was shown to be essential. In the subjects without preliminary training, the use of personal protective equipment was followed by a weak change in the nature of the respiratory pattern. After the preliminary training subjects had an adaptive rearrangement of the respiratory pattern, consisted of the decline in breathing movements as the respiratory resistance increased. Preliminary training to the exposure of additional resistance to breathing, altered pulmonary gas exchange and acid-base state of blood. The trained subjects had higher pCO2 blood values and lower values of pO2. They showed a greater deficit of buffer bases of plasma compared to untrained ones. This fact testified the preliminary training for the use of personal respiratory protective equipment (long-term adaptation) changed the gas composition and acid-base state of the blood to be a more economical mode of the discharge of buffer systems. On the basis of the data obtained, the preliminary training for increased respiratory resistance was suggested to be advisable before the using personal respiratory protective equipment.

Download Full-text

KADAR ELEKTROLIT DALAM DARAH PADA TENAGA KERJA YANG TERPAPAR PANAS (Studi Kasus Pada Bagian Welding Di PT. DOK Dan Perkapalan Surabaya (Persero) Tahun 2016)

GEMA LINGKUNGAN KESEHATAN ◽

10.36568/kesling.v15i1.567 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fitria Alfiatus Solikhah ◽

Hadi Suryono ◽

Rusmiati .

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Blood Level ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Random Sampling ◽

Negative Ions ◽

The Body ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Hot Climate ◽

Osmotic Effects ◽

Descriptive Method

ABSTRACTElectrolytes are salts that ionized or broken down into positive and negative ions in the body. Thefunction of liquid electrolytes in the body is to maintain the structure of the cells through osmotic effects and asan integral part of the process of cellular metabolism.This research used descriptive method by observation, interviews and measurements to determineelectrolytes blood level on the working labors. Samplings were acquired by using random sampling of 18 samplesfrom 27 populations.From the research, the majority of respondents age > 40 years (88.9%), length of working > 5 years(88.9%), drinking water intake > 2 liters (61.1%), electrolyte levels were Imbalance (72.2 %), working climatewas 31C.The conclusion of this study that the characteristics of employment and levels of electrolyte did notaffect the health of the working labors. Therefore, the company was suggested to add natural or artificialventilation thus the working climate in the workshop rooms would be comfortable.Keywords : electrolytes, hot climate, welding, personal protective equipment

Download Full-text

COVID-19 Guidelines to Protect Healthcare Workers at Hospitals and Dental Professionals at Dental Office

Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences ◽

10.4314/ejhs.v30i6.23 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Bassel Tarakji ◽

Mohammad Zakaria Nassani ◽

Faisal Mehsen Alali ◽

Abdulwahab A. Abuderman

Keyword(s):

Infection Control ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Dental Treatment ◽

Health Workers ◽

The Body ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Dental Office ◽

Control Procedures ◽

Dental Professionals

BACKGROUND፡ Coronavirus disease 2019 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. This study aimed to address the preventive procedures to protect healthcare workers at hospital to avoid COVID-19, and infection control procedures to protect dental professionals in dental office.METHODS: We conducted a search of published articles from PubMed, google scholar databases using key words such as COVID-19, healthcare worker, infection control, and dental practice. Relevant articles were identified and reviewed. Most published papers were clinical reports and case studies. We have selected some of the current published papers written in English in 2020.RESULTS: Infection control procedures to protect health workers at hospitals, and dental professionals at dental office were summurised and presented. Infection control procedures for healthcare workers at hospitals include Personal protective equipment, Korea filter (KF)94 respirator, goggles, face protector,disposable waterproof long-arm gown, and gloves, and others. Extra-protection procedures should be taken with old and vulnerable healthcare workers. Dental professionals should evaluate patients in advance before starting dental treatment. Aerosols generating procedures should be avoided and personal protective equipment should be used. Dental treatment should be restricted to emergency cases only.CONCLUSION: Old medical staff should be in safer distance to avoid infection, but young physicians and nurses should work at frontline as their immunity is better than their colleagues at old age. Screening patients and measurement of the body temperature are essential measures before dental treatment.

Download Full-text

PVA/Silver Nanoparticles Electrospun Fiber As a New Platform of Antiviral Personal Protective Equipment for COVID-19

10.1149/osf.io/tws79 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Haitham Kalil ◽

Shaimaa Maher ◽

Abdullah El-falouji ◽

Omar Samir ◽

Emad Gad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Silver Nanoparticles ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Electrospun Fiber ◽

Antiviral Treatment ◽

Antiviral Agents ◽

The Body ◽

Poly Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Cellulose Membrane

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged as a worldwide challenge to researchers and scientists. All research communities are working relentlessly in their labs hoping to find cure for the current COVID-19 pandemic. Developing a new vaccine for COVID-19 is not down on the road, it is a long process that needs numerous clinical trials. Moving the battle out of the body requires personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly masks and gloves. Together, they will limit spread of the virus, whether by reinforcing the PPE through developing an effective antiviral material or by finding the clinically proved vaccine to COVID-19.Virus infection is one of the major global health challenges. In the meantime, several antiviral agents have been under testing to assess their efficacy as potential therapies for COVID-19. The viral resistance and the side effects associated with antiviral agents are adding more challenges, which resulted in lagging of their effectiveness as antiviral treatment. This opens the door for the development of safe and potent alternative antiviral drugs. In the current study, silver nanoparticles loaded poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber-mat have emerged as a new antiviral platform in terms of its capability to deactivate a wide array of viruses. Silver nanoparticles have been studied exhaustively for their antimicrobial activity against wide-ranging of bacteria. Besides they have also shown promising activity versus several types of viruses including hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), herpes simplex, monkey pox, and respiratory syncytial virus. Silver nanoparticles provide an alternative route as a new antiviral material. Interestingly, silver metals have the power to attack multiple targets in the virus, which results in diminishing its possibility to develop resistance as compared to imitative antivirals.Considering the ongoing challenge, our lab has been preparing silver nanoparticles loaded on filter papers, cellulose membrane, polymer dressings, and cotton fabrics. These new generation of fiber mats will be fully characterized and tested against several viruses. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) will be used to determine the morphology of our fibers and measure the particle size of the embedded nanoparticles.

Download Full-text

Hearing the voices of Australian healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

BMJ Leader ◽

10.1136/leader-2020-000386 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. leader-2020-000386

Author(s):

Michelle Ananda-Rajah ◽

Benjamin Veness ◽

Danielle Berkovic ◽

Catriona Parker ◽

Greg Kelly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Policy Development ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Control Culture ◽

Moral Injury ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Free Text ◽

Respiratory Protection ◽

Open Letter ◽

Work Health

BackgroundThe statistics of healthcare worker (HCW) COVID-19 infections do not convey the lived experience of HCWs during the pandemic. This study explores the working conditions and issues faced by Australian HCWs.MethodsQualitative analysis of free-text responses from Australian HCWs from 3 August to 26 October 2020 from an open letter calling for better respiratory protection for HCWs, transparent reporting of HCW COVID-19 infections and diversity in national infection control policy development. The open letter was sent to an email list of 23 000 HCWs from a previous campaign and promoted on social media.ResultsAmong 3587 HCWs who signed the open letter during the study period, 569 free-text responses were analysed. Doctors and nurses accounted for 58% and 33% of respondents, respectively. Most respondents came from Victoria (48%), New South Wales (20%), Queensland (12%) or Western Australia (11%). Dominant themes included concerns about: work health and safety standards; guidelines on respiratory protection including the omission of fit-testing of P2/N95 respirators; deficiencies in the availability, quality, appropriateness and training of personal protective equipment; and a command-and-control culture that enabled bullying in response to concerns about safety that culminated a loss of trust in leadership, self-reported COVID-19 infections in some respondents and moral injury.ConclusionDeficiencies in work health and safety, respiratory protection, personal protective equipment and workplace culture have resulted in a loss of psychological and physical safety at work associated with an occupational moral injury. The challenge for healthcare leaders is to repair trust by addressing HCW concerns and fast track solutions in collaboration with them.

Download Full-text

Confidence Test for Personal Protective Equipment

Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine ◽

10.1177/102490790200900403 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 195-200

Author(s):

JTS Chan ◽

WHK Lau ◽

YF Wu

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

York City ◽

World Trade ◽

Terrorist Attack ◽

World Trade Center ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Respiratory Protection ◽

Trade Center

After the sarin attack in Tokyo Subway in 1995 and terrorist attack in World Trade Center of New York City in 2001, many countries are alerted by the risk of terrorist attack. International experiences show that many victims would arrive at hospital by their own transport. Staff safety is an important issue to be addressed. This study is to determine the skin and respiratory protection of a model of level C personal protective equipment which is currently available in Hong Kong.

Download Full-text